Originally aired May 4, 2001

SHANE COMES HOME

Reported by Statewide correspondent, Brad Penner.

Watch the Perspective story here: RealPlayer | QuickTime

[Radio voice] It's 7:25. Good morning Northeast Nebraska. This afternoon at Four o'clock is the annual Loyalty Day parade and we're pleased to say today we have a very special guest, Lt. Shane Osborn will be in the Loyalty Day parade.
The morning of May 1st the people of Norfolk prepared to celebrate.
[Radio voice] Bring out your red-white-and-blue flags and put your smile on and bring him back to town.
A concerned community looked forward to this day from the moment they heard a hometown boy landed a crippled reconnaissance plane in China.
[Mike Flood] The day after we found out that he was on the plane… we had no clue he was the lieutenant who piloted the plane. We just started handing out yellow ribbons and we went over I think eighteen hundred vehicles in the first day.
[Lt. Shane Osborn] I'm glad to be back, glad to be alive.
Lt. Shane Osborn saved his crew and survived eleven days of detention on a Chinese island. Norfolk residents made sure he knew how they felt about his return.
[Linda Gansebom] This is a picture of Shane on his Harley.
Photographer Linda Gansebom knows Shane Osborn. And she's proud to be from the same town.
[Linda Gansebom] Norfolk has got their own hero. He's just a… a wonderful guy. He's not… boastful or anything. He's very conservative and he's so dedicated to what his mission is and that is U.S. Navy and our security.
[Lt. Shane Osborn] I'm glad to be back in Norfolk finally. I know it took a few weeks but… I'm looking forward to it. I just took a drive around town and saw the… the billboards.
It seemed as though every one of Norfolk's 24-thousand people wanted to say thanks. But Shane Osborn's story especially touched the kids.
[Radio voice] Good morning, it's 7:48 and we've got a special request. Let's go to the phones. Good morning, US92.
[Caller] Yeah, can I request a song?
[Radio voice] Sure, what do you want to hear?
[Caller] I'm Proud to be an American
[Music] And I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free.
From the time the plane went down Julie Morgan's fourth and fifth grade students wanted to know everything they could about Lt. Shane Osborn and his crew.
[Julie Morgan] They were just so concerned about it. They… they looked on the Internet, they read the newspaper, they watched the news every night and would come in with current events information and talked to the class. And it was really a good discussion time.
[Adam Kitto] We wrote letters to his mom to tell her that they were in our thoughts and that we cared and we know… and to make her feel good. And then we wore yellow ribbons.
[Tiffany Carlson] I said, Dear Mrs. Osborn, I think your son is very brave and he's a good role model. And I told her about how my family was wearing the yellow ribbons.
[Julie Morgan] A lot of the letters were trying to help Mrs. Osborn more than anything to keep her on a positive side and to let her know that we were all thinking of her and that the kids were praying for her and Shane. And that he was a good role model to them and how much they looked up to him for what he did, not only to help our country but to save others in his crew.
Julie Morgan's students happen to go to the same grade school Shane Osborn attended, Northern Hills Elementary. Peg Bendixen taught Shane's sixth grade class.
[Peg Bendixen] As long as he was on the ground I did not worry about him because I knew Shane could get through it. And he… he just… A lot of prayers said. I wore a yellow ribbon to everything that I went to, whatever clothing I had on… In fact I just took it off this morning because I've been told in the past week, he's released now, you don't wear your yellow ribbon. I said, I'll wait until he's in Norfolk. And so once I found out he was in Norfolk then I figured this morning before I went to work I was safe in taking my yellow ribbon off.
While the folks back home thought of Shane, he thought of them.
[Lt. Shane Osborn] Hours and hours and hours were spent thinking about this moment right here. Maybe not with all the cameras but home with all my family.
Shane said the Chinese kept him in isolation most of the time. His mother Diane was in a kind of isolation back in Norfolk. Military officials told her not to talk publicly about Shane. She stayed home with a few family members waiting for news.
[Diane Osborn] It was probably the longest of all the days I've ever spent in my life as far as waiting. It was… It was frightening in the fact that I didn't know it was going to just be eleven days. That was probably the worst thing, not knowing how long it was going to be.
[Jack Williams] As soon as I found out I went over to visit Diane.
Pastor Jack Williams became an important connection to the community.
[Diane Osborn] Our minister, Pastor Jack Williams, was… was really great to come out and… or call and to pray with us.
Prayer chains that began at St. John's Lutheran Church soon extended across the state and nation by email.
[Jack Williams] I don't know where Diane would have been without her faith. She's very strong, she's very active here, and she rested a great deal on just turning it over to the Lord and… and our first meeting that was… that was basically all we could do. And so that faith, you know, was blessed in that way and we were very thankful for that.
Reverend Williams believes Shane Osborn handled the ordeal the same way his mother did. With poise and faith.
[Lt. Shane Osborn] First of all, I'd like to thank God for allowing my crew and myself to be here today because it was definitely Him flying that plane.
Lt. Shane Osborn's return was a huge deal in Norfolk. It seemed like everyone contributed to the celebration in some way. And why not? When they celebrated their local hero, they celebrated themselves in a way. The people of Norfolk shared at least some of the credit for his success.
[Lt. Shane Osborn] A lot of hard workers, well-grounded people. I think that helps a lot. Teaches you to be humble, you know, no matter what your surroundings are. Because this was definitely a humbling experience.
Diane Osborn says her son learned teamwork on the high school football field. The Boy Scouts and his church shaped his character.
[Diane Osborn] Yes, I think that helped develop the moral integrity.
Other's encouraged Shane's love of flying. Diane Osborn was a nurse at the Norfolk Veterans' Home. She took Shane and his sister there to visit.
[Lt. Shane Osborn] The veterans… at the Veterans' Home in town, my Mom was Director of Nursing there for fourteen years. I'd go down there and talk to them and stuff and they built me all types of models. All types and that was pretty neat so I'd hang them from fishing line from my ceiling all over my room, you know, in different attitudes and etcetra so it was pretty cool.
As he grew the local Civil Air Patrol gave him his first real aviation training.
[Lt. Shane Osborn] Civil Air Patrol really helped me get my focus down and inform me on what I needed to do to become a… military naval aviator. Even though it was auxiliary it was all aerospace training.
How many cadets have you got?
[Cadet] About nine.
[Lt. Shane Osborn] Nine, good.
Shane Osborn couldn't go anywhere without being mobbed by fans of all ages.
[Grayson Frohberg] I got my hat autographed.
You got your hat autographed, what do you think about that?
[Grayson Frohberg] I think its pretty cool.
Like so many Norfolk kids, Grayson Frohberg has a new hero and role model.
[Grayson Frohberg] Well, I like… I mean, I like how he served and saved his people. Saved his crew.
[Lori Frohberg] As a parent I hope that they will look to have the kind of pride that it seems like Shane has. And I'm also a teacher in our Norfolk School District and we've talked a lot about it in our classroom and it's really helping teach patriotism and freedom.
Shane Osborn downplays the hero talk.
[Lt. Shane Osborn] If that's what they want to talk, that's fine you know. I'm a little selfish, I'm getting to do what I want to do and I get paid to have fun. And if somebody else wants to do that, more power to them.
Osborn says his own role models include his mother, family friends and…
[Lt. Shane Osborn] Anyone that was in the military.
His father, Doug, served in the jungles of Vietnam.
[Doug Osborn] He's told me that the proudest he's ever been of me was because of my military and not my personal… my personal life. It was because of my military life.
[Lt. Shane Osborn] I love this country and… I love all those who served it and… and came out here today to finally celebrate.
Norfolk's Loyalty Day parade is an annual event. The local VFW sponsors the parade to honor veterans.
[Russell Kernick, Sr] We're from the Purple Heart Group… the wounded veterans.
[Kenneth Titman] I was in World War II and I was a prisoner of war over in France.
Kenneth Titman was captured after enemy artillery struck the tank he commanded.
[Kenneth Titman] I was a prisoner of war ten days and… what Osborn was going through, I can feel for him. That's what I was in.
Lt. Osborn's appearance drew thousands to the parade. The adoration overwhelmed him.
Shane appreciates the support of his hometown, but he's also ready to get back in the cockpit.
[Lt. Shane Osborn] I'll be out there doing the same thing. Wherever my skipper tells me to go is where I'm going. And if it's out there, which it probably will be, that's where I'll go. And I have no idea when I'll deploy again but hopefully soon.
You might think Diane Osborn would worry about her son returning to the air, but she won't.
[Diane Osborn] He's a very adventurous person and so was I at his age. And I think he's been well trained and really if he could come out this, what do I have to fear. I mean how many times is this going to happen in a career?
The joyful noise in Norfolk will fade, but the impact of Shane Osborn's heroism will remain. His humility won't let him take credit, but his actions remind his community and his country of the value of Patriotism. The support, encouragement and love shown by the people of Norfolk demonstrate the value of a caring community.
[Diane Osborn] You never really know how you fit into a community until you see what the community… how they pull together behind you. They're always there and they're supportive and they're with you and… you visit and you exchange, you know, life happenings. But to see and to hear and to feel the outpouring of love and care and concern is great. It just makes me really proud!
[Lt. Shane Osborn] God, I love this country.
At the final event of Loyalty Day, a lightning show added to a fireworks display. After a couple of days talking to the media and hometown admirers, Lt. Shane Osborn didn't say much but it was enough.
[Lt. Shane Osborn] Thank you, Norfolk. And thank you to the people in Nebraska. We live proud and we live free and let's keep it that way.