And since the only nonstop route from Beijing to the U.S. on an American carrier was a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit, Henry Ford was chosen to receive the celebrated patient.

CNN: Free -- And Still Feisty

After a quick meeting and tearful farewell with his family, he is escorted into the first class compartment of a Northwest Airlines jumbo jet for a long flight to Detroit in the U.S. Upon landing, he gets a thorough medical examination by doctors at the Henry Ford Hospital, a clean bill of health, and delivers a speech to a sympathetic audience in New York.

CNN: EXPORTING DISSENT