DIPLOMATIC ORDEAL Niles honors Navy man freed by China

The mayor gave the Navy man a plaque, honoring him for heroism and patriotism.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- Shawn Coursen doesn't see himself as a hero.
"I think of what Jackie Robinson said, 'A life is not important but for the impact it has on others' lives.'
"There are a lot of other people who do things every day, like teachers, police officers, that are more dangerous or have a greater impact than I ever did," he said. "It's just that I happened to land in China."
Coursen, 28, a code decipherer with the U.S. Navy, was one of 24 U.S. servicemen and women detained by the Chinese government for 11 days this month after their surveillance plane made an emergency landing on a Chinese island after a midair collision with a Chinese fighter jet.
Presented with plaque: Mayor Ralph A. Infante Jr. presented Petty Officer 1st Class Coursen with a plaque at a ceremony Wednesday, honoring him for heroism and patriotism. Coursen's parents, James and Susan, live in the city.
Coursen, in his white Navy uniform, joked and smiled as he answered reporters' questions.
He, his wife, Misayo, and their daughter, Jessika, 5, were to fly to Whidbey Island, in Washington, today and then fly home later this week to their base in northern Japan.
Although the Navy gave the crew members a 30-day leave, Coursen plans to cut his short and return to flying in about a week.
"I only took 10 days," he said. "That was long enough for me."
Coursen hadn't seen his wife and daughter for about a month and a half before the episode. His parents, wife and daughter flew to Whidbey Island to greet the crew upon their return Easter weekend.
Eager to return: Despite 11 days of rice, bread, cucumbers, eggs and "mystery meat," Coursen said he won't shy away from similar missions down the road.
"I'm looking forward to it. My wife doesn't really want me to, but I'm looking forward to it."
The most frightening parts of the ordeal were the initial collision and the 8,000-foot drop that followed.
"That all happened in about a 5- to10-second time frame," he said. "I was saying goodbyes."
The pilot managed to land the plane and about 20 minutes passed before they got out, he said. The crew was able to destroy a lot of the high-security information before the Chinese came on board, according to wire reports.
"The guards surrounded the plane, but once we were on the bus, they offered us water and cigarettes," Coursen said.
The crew members passed their time in Chinese custody telling jokes and playing practical jokes on one another.
The Chinese treated the crew well, he said, and some crew members taught their English translators to play cards and the words to the Eagles' classic "Hotel California."
Visit to Niles: Coursen and his wife and daughter arrived in Niles last week to visit his parents, sisters, brother, nieces and nephews. It marked his first visit to Niles in about two years.
"I was hiding out for the first week," Coursen said of his avoidance of the media spotlight. "I felt like an endangered species, as many times as they took my picture."
But he said he's grateful for the support the community gave his parents through the ordeal.
His background: Coursen was born in Steubenville and grew up in Connellsville, Pa., and Valdosta, Ga., where he graduated from high school.
He has never lived in the Mahoning Valley, but the rest of his family returned to the area about nine years ago. His parents are Trumbull County natives.
Since he was released from China, he has gotten e-mail messages from people he hasn't heard from in years and said he's surprised by all of the attention he and fellow crew members are getting.
"To us, it's just doing our jobs," he said.