This story is about the return via C-141 of to two Americans who were held in Chinese prisons for many years.
Check this link for details about Richard Fectau. He's mentioned in the article as a 'civilian army employee', but he was most likely a CIA agent.
The first two POWs of the post-Korea cold war era were John T. Downey and Richard Fecteau, captured by the Chinese 11-29-1952. Downey was released with the majority of the POWs during Operation Homecoming, 3-12-73 after more that 20 years in prison. They were flying a reconnaissance mission (type aircraft unknown) when shot down. They were listed as civilians. Fecteau got out after 19 years on 12-13-71.
The following article was published in December 1971 (exact date unknown)
Richard Fecteau, 44, and Mary Ann Harbert, 25, the two Americans who were released late Sunday by the Chinese, stepped wearily onto United States soil at Hickam Air Force Base yesterday.
It was the first time in 19 years that Fecteau, a civilian employee for the Army, had been under the protection of the American flag on American soil. He was captured in north China in 1952 during the Korean War while allegedly on a guerrilla mission.
For Miss Harbert, a pretty brunette in a fetching white sweater and slacks, it was a "return from the dead". She had been given up lost at sea after a yacht on which she was sailing from Hong Kong to Japan disappeared in 1968.
The Chinese said the yacht strayed into their territorial waters.
Newsmen were not able to interview the pair when they arrived aboard an Air Force C-141 Starlifter at Hickam at 11:20 a.m. yesterday.
Fecteau and Miss Harbert also refused to be photographed during their plane's refueling stop.
But they got out of the big jet at 1:15 p.m., about ll minutes before the plane departed for an unannounced Mainland destination, to stretch their legs and get some of the plentiful Hawaiian sunshine.
Newsmen were not permitted to approach the two Americans and were kept at least a football fields distance away.
Miss Harbert, who emerged first from the C-141, huddled against a brisk trade wind in the protection of the wheel covers of the inboard port engine.
Fecteau seemed to enjoy the breeze and faced directly into it.
Two nurses who accompanied the pair on the flight from Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines also took advantage of the refueling stop to get some fresh air.
Miss HarberT got back aboard at 1:22 p.m. and Fecteau boarded at 1:29 p.m., just before the hatch closed and the plane taxied to the runway.
Newsmen and photographers had waited more than two hours for the pair to make an appearance.
A spokesman for the Pacific Military Command said Fecteau and Miss Hartbert had declined to talk to the press or be photographed. A doctor from the Pacific Air Forces Headquarters, Col. Murphy Chesney, accompanied them on the flight from Clark Air Force Base,
Chesney told a military spokesman that the pair appeared to be in good health but were tired.
Two bunks were set up for Fecteau and Miss Harbert in the spacious interior of the C-141. There also was a galley aboard where hot food was prepared. The spokesman said that the pair showed no outward emotion about being back on American soil. They did not ask for current newspapers or magazines, he said. There was no crowd at Hickam to greet the returnees.
Newsmen and photographers found security the tightest in many years. They at first were barred from Hickam by armed guards, but word finally came to let them enter about 10:30 a.m