Out of Lebanon: American Woman and Adopted Baby Welcomed Home

This is a partial transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," July 26, 2006, that has been edited for clarity.

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BILL O'REILLY, HOST: In the "Factor follow-up" segment tonight: Last week, we talked with Laura Gabriel, who traveled to Lebanon to adopt a baby and was trapped by the violence there. The baby couldn't get a passport.

Well, we and others enlisted help from the Bush administration. They responded --quickly! And now Laura is back home in New Hampshire. [You're looking at video of] yesterday's reunion. She joins us from Salem, New Hampshire, along with her husband Scott.

Laura, you know, we're really glad. Obviously, everybody's glad that you're back home with your family. And the baby's OK.

But let's pick up the odyssey. After we spoke with you by phone, you were in Beirut, bombs going off all over the place, couldn't get out. We did the best we could for you.

We have to say the Bush administration, the State Department, they were very cooperative. They rushed through the paperwork for the baby. So you got the word you were going to leave. Pick it up from there.

LAURA GABRIEL, WAS STRANDED IN LEBANON WITH ADOPTED BABY BOY: We took a helicopter with the baby to the U.S.S. Nashville, a Navy ship. And just can't say enough about all of the members of the armed services that we came in contact with. They were amazing, amazing people.

O'REILLY: All right, so the helicopter picked you up in Beirut?

L. GABRIEL: Yes, at the U.S. embassy.

O'REILLY: OK. And it took you out to a ship. And the ship took you to Cyprus, correct?

L. GABRIEL: Yes, it did.

O'REILLY: All right.

L. GABRIEL: We stayed in Cyprus for a couple of nights. And then we got the phone call at four o'clock. And they said be ready to get on a bus to go to the airport in an hour.

So we absolutely did that. We got on a bus, took the hour trip to the Cyprus airport. From there, we got on an Air Force cargo plane. And we did four hours and 45 minutes to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany.

We arrived there at about 3:00 a.m. and waited until about 6:45 a.m., boarded the same cargo plane. Took a nine-hour trip and landed on U.S. soil in New Jersey at McGuire Air Force Base. Stayed there. They were kind enough to put us on a bus and bring us to Newark Airport, where my husband had a flight ready for me to come home to Boston.

O'REILLY: Excellent. Now all throughout the long travel, how was the baby? Did the baby handle it OK?

L. GABRIEL: You know, he's a trooper. He is a trooper. You know, he slept when I needed him to sleep. He stayed on, you know, his schedule as best he could. -- There has been no schedule. I don't know what day of the week it is!

O'REILLY: Right, I can imagine.

L. GABRIEL: You know, he did great.

O'REILLY: OK. Now Scott, are there any words to describe the ordeal from your point of view?

SCOT GABRIEL, HUSBAND: Thank God it's over, that's all I can say. I'm so happy to have my wife and my son back home in this house, where we can begin to begin to be a family for the first time I think really in a while. And we're just thrilled. It was long. It was drawn out. But now that it's over, all's well that ends well.

L. GABRIEL: Absolutely. Thank you. We're just so amazed by everything everybody did on every level. We're just amazed that we're here in our living room.

S. GABRIEL: We're so fortunate.

L. GABRIEL: And we're so blessed.

O'REILLY: Well, you know, look, we have to stick together here. Americans have to stick together. I've been trying to get that across to everybody. And I have to tell you when we started to call around, and we know that Senator Kennedy and Congressman Meehan and your senators in New Hampshire, Sununu and who is it, Judd Gregg is it the other senator?

L. GABRIEL: Yes, Judd Gray, yes.

O'REILLY: Right. They all helped out. But we called the Bush administration, I mean, they said, look, anything we can do, we're going to do it. We're going to get them fast. We're going to get it out. And it just was a matter of bringing it to their attention.

So when Americans stick together, that's what happens -- bad turns into good.

S. GABRIEL: Homeland Security was fantastic to us.

L. GABRIEL: Yes, all levels.

S. GABRIEL: Everybody.

O'REILLY: I got one more question for you, Laura. Did you learn anything that you'll keep with you your whole life through this ordeal?

L. GABRIEL: Oh, I learned so much. Just really how important it is to stress to the baby the importance of being a good concerned citizen. It's one thing, you know -- my father always, you know, said to me, you have to vote, you have to vote. You know, you have to be part of the process.

And growing up you're like yeah, yeah, yeah. But, you know, he was so right. And, you know, he was so right. And I absolutely am starting, you know, right now with Logan.

S. GABRIEL: We're going to teach him to be a good American.

L. GABRIEL: Yes.

O'REILLY: And you know, Logan is going -- you're going to be able to tell Logan this story that he's, you know -- the beginning of his life is pretty exciting. And so we're really glad you guys are back and congratulations to you. And let us know if we can do anything for you. And thanks for appearing this evening.

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