OXON HILL, Md. -- Very few people get to fly on the real air force one. Fewer still can say it once felt like home. Master Sargent Henry Brown served as a flight attendant on board Air Force One for more than 2 decades.
Now retired, he served under presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush.
Brown says that Bush’s funeral on Thursday brought back memories of the late president on long international hauls -- through good and bad.
“I felt proud that I was able to be a part of the Bush administration while he was in office.
He just made you feel very comfortable and wonderful family. It was a pleasure to serve him.”
This weekend Brown was part of the Air Force One Experience.
The replica is a converted Panam 747- that Brown says looks very much like the real thing.
Master Sargent Wanda Joell was also on board.
“I tell people I’ve been around the world, multiple times, cause wherever the president went, we went," said Joell.
Now retired, Joell was the first African-American woman to serve as flight attendant on Air Force One.
“I wouldn’t have retired if I didn’t have to," said Joell.
Joell described the history she saw unfold on Air Force One: an extension of the White House in the air.
Joell flew with George W. Bush on 9/11.
“We got a chance to share a short moment, just about how he was feeling. I just wanted to console him at the time, we consoled each other because we were going to be together for a long day that day," said Joell.
The plane was designed as way of bringing history and democracy to life by The Children’s Democracy Project. The Air Force One Experience will be open to the public at National Harbor until the end of the year.
