How Bowe Bergdahl Learned He Was Free

Lots more details are still to come on the release of American POW Bowe Bergdahl in Afghanistan, but this one will be tough to beat: When he got into the helicopter during the transfer, it was too loud to talk, so Bergdahl found a paper plate and wrote "SF?" on the back of it. He wanted to know if, at long last, he was in the company of US Special Forces. When they replied in the affirmative, Bergdahl broke into tears, says a Pentagon official quoted at CNN.

Bergdahl's parents, meanwhile, issued a statement after receiving the phone call from the White House. "We were so joyful and relieved when President Obama called us today to give us the news that Bowe is finally coming home," they wrote. "We cannot wait to wrap our arms around our only son." And back home in Hailey, Idaho, organizers of a June 28 concert that was to call attention to Bergdahl's plight says the show will go on, reports the Washington Post. Except now, it's going to be "the biggest welcome-home party the country has ever seen," says an organizer. (More Bowe Bergdahl stories.)