Senior Chief Petty Officer Nicholas Mellos shows off his tee-shirt emblazoned with the phrase "An American Legend" as he begins his celebration aboard a chartered aircraft after being released at Haikou, China, on April 12, 2001, during Operation Valiant Return. Mellos, a Navy Aviation Machinist's Mate, is one of 24 crew members detained for 11 days after their EP-3 Aries II reconnaissance aircraft made forced landing on Hainan Island as a result of a collision with a Chinese F-8 fighter aircraft. The crew will stop briefly in Guam to change planes and will then continue on to Hawaii for military debriefings before a final reunion with families and friends on the mainland. Mellos is from Ypsilanti, Mich.