US Airman Credits God For Survival, Rescue After Parachute Failure In Iran
U.S. Air Force officer shot down in Iran says he prayed while "free-falling" to the ground behind enemy lines
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.'"
Help took two days to come. Bravo, who broke his back, an arm and a shoulder after hitting the ground at such high speed, hid and survived two days behind enemy lines before his rescue. He calls it a "modern-day miracle."
"I believe that it's a testament to God's provision in my life to bring me through that moment in a way that didn't prevent injuries, but prevented any catastrophic injuries that would have affected my ability to survive," Bravo, identified by his mission call sign due to security threats, said.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rescuing-bravo-air-force-officer-iran-60-minutes/
