U.S. Air Force officer shot down in Iran says he prayed while "free-falling" to the ground behind enemy lines
A U.S. Air Force officer, identified by the call sign 'Bravo', shared his account of surviving a shoot-down over Iran in April. Despite suffering severe injuries during a high-speed descent, he survived two days behind enemy lines before being rescued.
Why it matters
This provides a rare, first-hand account of combat operations in the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran.
The Air Force colonel needed help when he crashed over a mountainous part of Iran's desert, separated from his crewmate, the pilot of the F-15E, after being shot down by Iran in April.The U.S. aviator free-fell to the ground at an estimated 70-100 mph; the Iranian shoulder-fired missile had damaged his parachute. He was the backseater, the weapons-systems officer on a two-man crew with the mission call sign Dude 44. The pilot was Alpha; he was Bravo."At one point when I looked up and saw no parachute, that was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen," Bravo said in his first public account of what happened. "So I paused, right then, and I prayed, 'Lord, your will be done. But if I'm getting through this, I need help.'"TRANSCRIPT: Shot Down Over IranHelp took two days to come.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in