A Powell couple had a unique opportunity to watch their son land in a Chinook helicopter at Choice Aviation in Cody on Thursday as part of his flight-engineer duties with the U.S. Army.

Don and Lori Hansen watched the Chinook land at about 4:30 p.m. after learning shortly beforehand that their son, Bryant Hansen, would be flying into Cody soon.

Bryant Hansen said the original plan was to stop in Casper for the night, but the flight had made such good time that the crew was able to make it to Cody instead. He told his older brother, Tyler, that his plan was to call his parents up after the Chinook landed and tell them he was in town.

But Tyler Hansen told their dad about the planned landing.

“Your brother let the cat out of the bag,” Don Hansen told his son as they hugged in greeting.

“Thanks,” Bryant Hansen said, looking at his brother Tyler Hansen.

“You didn’t tell me not to,” Tyler Hansen quipped back. “It’s your fault.”

Bryant Hansen, who has been in the Army for nine years, said Thursday he and the other three members of the flight crew — pilot Shell, copilot Crabtree and crew chief Cox — flew on a commercial flight earlier to El Paso, Texas, then left El Paso that morning and were on their way to deliver the Chinook to Fort Wainwright, Alaska. Cody served as a place to stop for the night and fuel up.

Don Hansen said he was glad for the advance notice, in part because it gave him a chance to invite a special guest to be on hand for the landing.

Bonny Rouse of Powell started Powell Troop Support in 2003. She and Ann Ruward mail packages every month to active-duty service members from the Big Horn Basin. According to a 2010 letter to the editor from Carolyn Danko of Powell, Rouse began the effort after her then-active-duty son told her that some active-duty military members didn’t receive care packages from home.

“She decided that none of ours would go without,” Danko wrote. “So, she and Ann started gathering names and packing boxes.”

They’ve done it every month since then, with a special community effort helping with donations of goods for care packages and money for postage to mail extra packages for Christmas each year. To date, Rouse’s records show she and Ruward have sent packages to 387 deployed military members.

Don invited Rouse to come along to watch the Chinook land and talk to Bryant, whom she considers one of “my kids.”

Bryant Hansen served three tours of duty in the Middle East, and Tyler Hansen served one. Each time, they received monthly packages from Powell Troop Support.

“What Bonny does is pretty special,” Don Hansen said Monday. “What my son does — that’s his job. My son signed up for his job, and my wife and I support it. But Bonny volunteers it. ... Our sons have been the recipients of her goodwill and gestures.”

Don Hansen said Rouse had asked for a photo of Bryant Hansen with his helicopter. He got one for her, but it was so small that you couldn’t see Bryant very well, he said. So, as they waited side by side for the helicopter to land Thursday, Don Hansen turned to Rouse, smiled and said, “Get your own damn photo now.”

“She looked at me and tears started streaming down her face. She knew what I meant.”

After the flight crew finished its post-flight check and a pre-flight check for the next day, Bryant Hansen took time to visit with Rouse, his parents, his brothers and his three nephews, Tyler Hansen’s sons: Isaac, 12; Josh, 8; and Dylan, 2. His first stop after leaving Cody Aviation was at Powell Valley Hospital, where he met the newest member of the family, Matthew Alan Hansen, born the day before to Tyler and his wife, Heather Hansen.

Afterward, Bryant Hansen stayed overnight with his family in Powell, while the rest of the crew stayed in Cody. His family got to watch the Chinook take off Friday morning.

“It was fun to watch it take off the next morning,” Don Hansen said.

In all the nine years that Bryant Hansen has served in the Army, this is the first time he was able to land in Cody, his father said.

Rouse said she was thrilled about the chance to watch the Chinook land in Cody and to see Bryant Hansen again.

“It’s always good when my kids come home,” she said.