President Donald Trump and his administration have detailed the “incredibly dangerous” mission to rescue a U.S. airman after his F-15 was shot down over Iran.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said at a Monday news conference, “When he was finally able to activate his emergency transponder, his first message was simple and it was powerful: ‘God is good.’”
Hegseth went on to say, “Shot down on a Friday — Good Friday — hidden in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday. And rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday.”
Before Hegseth’s remarks, Trump said 155 aircraft were involved in the rescue of the Air Force member behind enemy lines in Iran, including four bombers, 64 fighters, 48 refueling tankers, 13 rescue aircraft, among others.
He said a deception campaign was crucial in the rescue operation, with a lot of the efforts involving decoys for the Iranians who were also hunting for the missing American service member. “We were bringing them all over and a lot of it was subterfuge,” Trump said.
