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The president Donald Trump termed the rescue of the second crew member of an F-15E Strike Eagle shot down by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard last Friday over central Iran as an "Easter miracle," in an operation he described as one of the boldest in the military history of the United States.
According to NBC News, e the rescued individual is a U.S. colonel who served as a weapons systems officer —the rear-seat occupant— and who remained hidden for more than 36 hours in a mountain crevice in southwestern Iran, actively evading Iranian forces that were offering rewards of up to $60,000 for his capture.
Trump announced the rescue at 12:08 AM on his platform Truth Social with the message "WE GOT HIM!", and explained why he chose that religious expression to describe the operation: the rescue took place on Easter Sunday, the Christian holiday focused on resurrection, and the colonel was found alive after more than a day and a half in enemy territory when Iran believed it had him almost captured.
"The Iranians thought they had it, but it wasn't even close," Trump said in a text message to NBC News.
The president also revealed that the first crew member of the F-15E, the pilot, had been rescued that same Friday following the downing, but that his government remained silent about it to not compromise the second operation.
"Remember, we rescued two, but we couldn't talk about the first one because that would have revealed that there was a second," he explained.
A decisive role in the rescue was played by the CIA, which launched a deception campaign within Iran simulating that the colonel had already been evacuated, with the aim of confusing enemy forces while locating him.
"While the Iranians were confused and unsure of what was happening, the Agency used its unique and exquisite capabilities to search for and find the American," noted a senior Trump administration official in a statement to NBC News.
"It was the ultimate 'needle in a haystack,' but in this case it was a brave American soul hidden within a rocky crevice, invisible except to the capabilities of the CIA."
Trump ordered the deployment of "dozens of aircraft armed with the most lethal weapons in the world" for the operation and stated that no Americans were killed or injured.
However, specialized media outlets such as The War Zone and Military Times confirmed that two helicopters sustained damage from Iranian fire during the initial rescue and that several crew members were injured.
Iran, for its part, claimed to have destroyed two Black Hawk helicopters and a C-130 transport plane during the operation.
At least two MC-130J Commando II aircraft, valued at between 90 and 110 million dollars each, were deliberately destroyed by U.S. forces to prevent them from falling into enemy hands, with a total estimated material cost exceeding 200 million dollars.
The colonel was described by Trump as "seriously injured" but was evacuated to Kuwait for medical treatment. A press conference is scheduled for Monday afternoon.
The downing of the F-15E on Friday was the first confirmed case of a U.S. aircraft being shot down within Iranian territory since the beginning of the Epic Fury Operation, the joint offensive by the United States and Israel against Iran that began on February 28, 2026.
"This is the first time in military history that two American pilots have been rescued, separately, deep in enemy territory," Trump emphasized.
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