Niles couple to visit son

The Coursens were packing this morning for a trip to see their son.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- A Warren Avenue couple were to fly this afternoon from the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport to be reunited with their son.
The U.S. Navy will fly James and Susan Coursen on a commercial flight from Vienna to Detroit and Seattle. The couple will travel to Whidbey Island, Wash., for a reunion Saturday with their son, Shawn, 28.
"We just know that the plane will land at 4 p.m. in Washington [state]," Susan Coursen said.
Shawn and 23 other U.S. military personnel were held by the Chinese government for 11 days after a midair collision between the U.S. surveillance plane they were flying in and a Chinese fighter jet. The U.S. plane made an emergency landing April 1 on the Chinese island Hainan. The Chinese released the crew Wednesday.
Getting ready: Mrs. Coursen was running around the couple's home this morning trying to get everything packed for the trip. They don't know how long they'll stay in Washington.
"I'm packing two pairs of slacks, two dress shirts, two plain shirts, just so I have everything," she said. "Right now I'm trying to find my jumper."
Shawn called from a cellular phone Thursday from Hawaii and spoke briefly with his parents.
"He just said he'd see us Saturday," Mrs. Coursen said. "He sounded like he was tired of being cooped up. He's not the kind of person who can stay in one place for too long."
In a longer conversation early Thursday from Guam, Shawn revealed a bit about the crew's ordeal.
"He said they were eating rice every day and so when they got to Guam they had steak and potatoes and stuff like that," she said.
Feared they would die: After the collision with the Chinese jet, the crew members were sure they were going to die, Mrs. Coursen said, referring to her son's comments.
"All he said was they were really, really scared," she said. "They put their parachutes on, but they didn't have time to jump. He said they thanked the pilot every day for landing the plane because they thought they were going to die."
The couple spotted their son while watching television news coverage of the plane landing in Hawaii and the crew getting off the plane.
"He looked well," his mother said.
His mood was upbeat in phone conversations with his parents also.
"He was in happy spirits," Mrs. Coursen said.
Shawn will visit his parents' Niles home in the near future, Mrs. Coursen said, but she doesn't know when.
The Navy also is flying Shawn's wife, Misayo, and their 5-year-old daughter, Jessika, to greet the crew in Washington. Shawn lives in northern Japan with his wife and daughter.
The third of the Coursens' four children and the oldest son, Shawn was born in Steubenville. The family moved to Connellsville, Pa., and Valdosta, Ga., while Shawn was growing up.
He never lived in Niles, but his parents, Trumbull County natives, returned to the area nine years ago.
"It'll just be really great to see him," Mrs. Coursen said.