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Lts. Patrick Honeck and Richard Payne listen to Navy Cmdr. Benard Lessard after being released at Haikou, China.
Lts. Patrick Honeck (center) and Richard Payne (right) listen to Navy Cmdr. Benard Lessard (left) aboard a chartered aircraft after being released at Haikou, China, on April 12, 2001, during Operation Valiant Return. Honeck and Payne are two 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. Honeck is from La Mesa, Calif. Lessard is the commanding officer of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 1.