Editing Joe Foss (section)

==Later years==
{{more citations needed|section|date=October 2016}}
On January 11, 2002, Foss, then 86, was in the news when he was detained by security at the [[Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport]]. He was scheduled to deliver an address at the National Rifle Association and speak to a class at the [[United States Military Academy]] at West Point. A search necessitated by his pacemaker precluding a metal detector screening had led to the discovery of the star-shaped Medal of Honor, along with a clearly marked dummy-bullet keychain, a second replica bullet and a small nail file (with MOH insignia).

The incident caused a furor with both media and public support given to Foss. Newsman Jack Cafferty noted that [[airport security]] personnel demonstrated poor judgment in not recognizing the Medal of Honor and in demanding to confiscate and destroy the medal and related memorabilia. He eventually lost a souvenir replica bullet, but was able to retain his Medal of Honor and commemorative nail file, by shipping it back to himself.<ref name="Cafferty">Cafferty, Jack. [http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/02/27/war.hero.cnna "Interview with Joe Foss: Decorated WWII veteran detained, searched at airport"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060821170551/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/US/02/27/war.hero.cnna/ |date=2006-08-21 }}, CNN.com, February 27, 2002.</ref>

<blockquote>"I wasn't upset for me ... I was upset for the Medal of Honor, that they just didn't know what it even was. It represents all of the guys who lost their lives – the guys who never came back. Everyone who put their lives on the line for their country. You're supposed to know what the Medal of Honor is", he said.<ref>Smith 2003, p. xviii.</ref> The incident led to a national debate about post 9/11 airport security practices and their ramifications on the average citizen.<ref>Alonso-Zildivar, Ricardo. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-mar-11-mn-32223-story.html "Public Anger Simmers Over Airport Searches"], ''Los Angeles Times'', March 11, 2002.</ref></blockquote>