Bush Takes Detour to Greet Troops : Homecoming: The 363rd Tactical Fighter Wing’s F-16s were among the first U.S. planes to arrive in the Gulf.

Returning from four days of meetings with allied leaders, President Bush stopped here Sunday to welcome home U.S. troops returning from the Persian Gulf, declaring they had “helped us revive the America of our old hopes and dreams.”

As thousands of local residents waved a virtual sea of American flags in the high school football stadium, Bush said the troops “not only helped liberate Kuwait” but also will “help this country liberate itself from old ghosts and doubts.”

“When you left, it was still fashionable to question America’s decency, America’s courage, America’s resolve,” Bush said. Now, because of the success in the Gulf, “no one, no one in the whole world doubts us anymore.”

American, he declared, had led the world “without gloating or arrogance.”

The homecoming was the first--although it is unlikely to be the last--attended by Bush. Sumter was chosen in large part for its geography: It was not far off Bush’s flight route from Bermuda, where he had met Saturday with British Prime Minister John Major.

In addition, nearby Shaw Air Force Base is home to the 363rd Tactical Fighter Wing, whose F-16s were among the first American planes to arrive in the Gulf region more than seven months ago. Also, South Carolina is one of the most solidly pro-military states in the nation, with dozens of Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy facilities. And the state gave Bush one of his largest majorities in the 1988 presidential election.

Bush stood on the stadium grandstand, flanked by recently returned troops--many still dressed in desert khakis, some yawning from all-night flights that had brought them back from Saudi Arabia.

The local crowd gave Bush an enthusiastic welcome, cheering as he ran down the list of area military units that participated in the Gulf War and as he praised senior military commanders at Shaw and other nearby bases, particularly the allied Air Force commander, Gen. Charles Horner, who is based at Shaw.

The warmest applause, however, greeted the appearance of Air Force Capt. Scott (Spike) Thomas, whose F-16 was downed during combat in mid-February behind enemy lines, and Lt. Neck Dodson, who had helped to coordinate Thomas’ rescue.

The two stood as Bush acknowledged them, then joined the President at the end of his speech for a group photo as eager White House political aides stood by beaming with satisfaction.

“You know, he’s been in the same situation,” the 27-year-old Thomas later said of Bush, who as a Navy pilot was shot down in World War II. “He knows what it’s like to come home.” Thomas said that Bush had simply told him, “Glad you’re back.”

Not everyone was greeted quite as warmly. At least some in the audience booed at the appearance of the state’s senior senator, Ernest F. Hollings, a Democrat who had voted against authorizing Bush to launch the war in January.

And a brief speech by a local black elected official welcoming Bush to the area drew some scattered calls of “sit down” from the crowd, which was overwhelmingly white despite the fact that the county’s population is about 50% black.

Those incidents, however, were isolated departures from the overwhelmingly festive mood of the homecoming. The mood was not even dampened by clouds that threatened rain much of the day and began to release a light drizzle as the ceremony ended.