re: What was air travel like before 9/11?

I was born on a military base overseas in '86 and my Dad got out and moved us back to the States when I was still an infant. In '98 we took a family trip back over and one of our days my Dad decides to take me to see the base and hospital where I was born. We just show up at the gate, my Dad over a decade removed from the military with zero credentials, just tells the guy the story and drops a few names and he's like eh, frick it and lets us in Free reign of the place