A segment on Sunday’s 60 Minutes featured new details pertaining to the remarkable Easter weekend rescue of two Air Force pilots whose F-15E Strike Eagle plane was shot down over Iran this past April.
The two pilots, identified by their callsigns “Dude 44 Alpha” and “Dude 44 Bravo,” both ejected after an Iranian shoulder-fired missile hit their aircraft.
Alpha was rescued within six hours, but Bravo’s ordeal unfolded over the next three days.
Talking with CBS’s Norah O’Donnell, the Air Force officer shared how he looked up at his poorly deployed parachute, recognized he was in grave danger, and immediately began praying.
“Lord, your will be done,” he said. “But if I’m getting through this, I need help.”
Bravo hit the ground at a speed of between 70 and 100 miles per hour. The impact broke his back, arm and shoulder and caused a sprained ankle and injuries to his head and face.
It had been previously reported that despite those injuries, the airman had managed to evade being captured and somehow climbed 7,000 feet in the Zagros Mountains of western Iran and found a concealed crevice where he could hide.
After doing all he could to steer clear of enemy forces, Bravo then sent a message to American officials responsible for locating and rescuing him.
What’s the first thing he said? He told O’Donnell:
“Dude 44 Bravo” was then asked what part his faith played in his ability to survive such a tortuous ordeal.
“I don’t have this story without faith,” he told 60 Minutes. “I’m not saying faith is [a] replacement for training. Training helps us understand what we do. But faith is the backstop of all my actions.”
Few Christians will ever be faced with that level of ordeal, but the heroic airman’s response to the danger is nevertheless both instructive and inspiring. Faithful Christians “train” every day by reading and studying God’s Word,” praying, and serving. We’re not saved by our activities, but by grace through faith for the good works God has prepared in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:10). Wrote James, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (2:17 ESV).
Further demonstrating an incredible humility of spirit, Bravo attempted to dismiss the notion that he possessed any special abilities or skills beyond what normal people navigate on a regular basis.
“I had injuries,” he acknowledged. “But we all train to adapt and overcome the things that we’re faced with.” He then added wrly, “Never let a lack of motivation put you on Iranian TV.”
Just a month into his presidency, President Ronald Reagan was presenting the Medal of Honor to Army Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez. The Army hero had endured and survived 37 wounds from bullets, shrapnel, and bayonets during a rescue mission in Vietnam. The 40th president said:
Bravo’s strong and enduring faith in God’s sovereignty and goodness sustained him throughout his plight. He knew the Lord was capable of doing the impossible, but was also at peace in the event He chose to not answer his prayers as requested.
By God’s grace and favor, we still find the types of men that Reagan asked about serving America in uniform. “Dude 44 Alpha” and “Dude 44 Bravo” have not yet been honored at the White House by President Trump – but expect it to happen, and soon.
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