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Navy Ens. Richard Bensing and Senior Chief Petty Officer Nicholas Mellos go through a receiving line at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.
Navy Ens. Richard Bensing (left) and Senior Chief Petty Officer Nicholas Mellos (2nd from left) go through a receiving line after arriving at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, on April 12, 2001, during Operation Valiant Return. Bensing and Mellos 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 is stopping 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. Bensing is from Brandon, Fla., while Mellos is from Ypsilanti, Mich.