Rescued Americans feast on pizza, soda

The American dream is pizza, cookies and soda.

At least that's the case for three American men rescued from Colombian rebels after five years of captivity, according to the Charleston-based Air Force crew that flew them to the United States on Wednesday.

"While en route from Colombia to Texas (for medical evaluation) the three men were in good spirits," Air Force Col. John C. Millander of the 437th Airlift Wing said in an e-mail to Team Charleston supporters Thursday. "They began to talk about what they missed most during their captivity … pizza, cookies and soda pop."

The crew just happened to have all three on board. Capt. Heidi Bucheit, the mission commander, bakes chocolate chip cookies before each flight, and a loadmaster had a couple of frozen pizzas and cans of soda in the refrigerator.

"The newly freed Americans enjoyed a feast of pizza, soda pop and home-baked cookies while flying back to the land of the free last night," Millander said. "A pretty good Independence Day thought, I think."

The C-17 Globemaster III landed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, shortly before midnight Wednesday. The crew was expected back in Charleston Thursday night.

Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell, all employees of the Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp., were captured by the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in February 2003 after their drug-surveillance plane crashed in the jungles of southern Colombia, according to The Associated Press.

Gonsalves' father lives in Hebron, Conn.; Howes is a native of Chatham, Mass., and Stansell's family lives in Miami, according to AP. Ingrid Betancourt, a former Colombian presidential candidate, and 11 Colombian police and soldiers also were rescued.

Reach Dave Munday at dmunday@postandcourier.com or 745-5862.