A Captain's Duty

of my favorite things in the world.
    Andrea felt this was her sign. She turned her face to the wall. And she said to herself, “Oh my God, he’s really going to be okay.”

EIGHTEEN
Day 5, 1945 Hours
    I am very pleased that Captain Phillips has been rescued and is safely on board the USS Boxer . His safety has been our principal concern, and I know this is a welcome relief to his family and his crew. I am also very proud of the efforts of the U.S. military and many other departments and agencies who worked tirelessly to secure Captain Phillips’ safe recovery. I share the country’s admiration for the bravery of Captain Phillips and his selfless concern for his crew. His courage is a model for all Americans.
    —President Barack Obama, April 12
    T he navy lifted the Zodiac onto the Bainbridge with a davit. I was walking with my hand on the shoulder of the SEAL striding ahead of me. We walked into the back hangar, where navy guys called out, cheering and congratulating me. But it was still very tense—there were corpsmen running back and forth, with headphones and voice sets, obviously checking for more pirates and getting the situation on the lifeboat squared away. I waved and called “Thank you”as I was being led straight to the sick bay, where a medic was waiting.
    Relief just flooded through me. Everything had happened so fast, it seemed like I’d been teleported out of that hellish boat onto this huge ship. The tension began to drain out of my body, slowly.
     
    Thousands of miles away, Andrea hadn’t heard a thing by Sunday morning. People were still coming and going and calling the house. She said good-bye to my sisters, who had to go back to their families, then went upstairs around 11:30 a.m., hoping to take a nap. Her bedroom was her safe zone, and it was understood that it was off-limits. Thinking she would fall asleep to the TV, Andrea turned to a movie channel and there on the bottom of the screen was a little ticker that said, “Captain Richard Phillips freed.”
    She didn’t believe it. She went flying down the stairs and found Jonathan, screaming, “YOU HAVE TO FIND OUT IF THIS IS TRUE!”
    In the jubilation and the excitement, everyone had forgotten to call my wife. They just assumed someone else had done it. I guess when information is so ubiquitous, you can’t imagine anyone not knowing some important piece of news, especially when they’re married to the central character. So Jonathan had to call Maersk and the Defense Department to get the scoop. Andrea didn’t care—all she needed was to know that I was safe.
    Jonathan got confirmation almost immediately. “I went running through the house shouting the news,” Andrea remembered. “And then I called everyone I knew.” Soon, the house filled with family and close friends.
    Soon Andrea started to see pictures of me on TV. That was when she really knew I was okay—when she could see my face. She became glued to the set, not caring how many times they played the same tape. “I just couldn’t get enough of it,” she told me.
    Around 3 p.m., the phone rang. Her friend Paige answered it. The farmhouse was getting so many media calls that she adopted a tough tone when she said, “Who is this?”
    And I said, “You mean to tell me you don’t recognize my voice?”
    She screamed.
    I could hear Andrea run over to the phone and I heard Paige blurt out, “It’s Richard.” I heard Andrea’s voice saying, “Hello, hello?”
    I did my usual, “Is your husband home?”
    “No,” Andrea said.
    “Good. I’ll be right over.”
    Andrea told me that she had tears in her eyes.
    “I’m just so glad you’re okay,” she said, her voice thick with emotion. And then, “What were you thinking getting into that lifeboat?”
    It was so good to hear her voice. That’s all I needed, just to listen to her. The words hardly mattered. I asked her about the kids and she asked if I was hurt anywhere and if I’d had anything to eat. She went into nurse mode.
    The call was cut off. Andrea told me later that she started flipping out because she finally had her husband back but couldn’t speak to me. Paige called back a bunch of numbersand ended up getting a Navy SEAL onboard the USS Boxer , which was sailing near the Bainbridge. She told him how happy and overwhelmingly grateful they all were, and he said, “Oh ma’am, we’re just doing our job.” She invited him and the other SEALs to Vermont for a home-cooked Italian meal. It was