An Air Force colonel shot down over Iran survived a terrifying fall, three broken bones and a two-day enemy manhunt after turning to God as his damaged parachute sent him plunging toward the desert.The colonel, identified only by his mission call sign "Bravo," revealed in a new interview with CBS News’ "60 Minutes" how a desperate prayer began an extraordinary 50-hour fight to make it home alive."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 the April ordeal."So I paused, right then, and I prayed, ‘Lord, your will be done.But if I’m getting through this, I need help.’"HOLLYWOOD LEGEND MAKING MOVIE ABOUT EPIC IRAN RESCUE MISSION TO SAVE F-15 FIGHTER JET CREWWreckage is seen from what Iranian authorities say is a U.S.
military helicopter that crashed during a mission to rescue the missing American pilot of an F-15E that was downed, in a handout image provided on April 5, 2026, in an unspecified location in Iran.(Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance/Handout via Getty Images)The colonel was the weapons systems officer seated behind the pilot of an F-15E Strike Eagle operating under the call sign Dude 44 when an Iranian shoulder-fired missile struck the aircraft April 2, according to CBS News.OPERATION EPIC FURY SHATTERED IRAN’S POWER, BUT EXPOSED RISKS AMERICA CAN’T IGNOREThe two-man crew had been assigned to attack industrial facilities tied to Iran’s drone and missile program near a mountainous region south of Isfahan, U.S.
Central Command leader Adm.Brad Cooper told the outlet."We had air superiority, but clearly we weren’t flying over Kansas," Cooper said.THE LEGACY OF 'EAGLE CLAW': HOW FAILURE HELPED BUILD AMERICA'S ELITE SPECIAL FORCESFILE – An F-15E Strike Eagle takes off for a combat flight in support of Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location on March 16, 2026.
(U.S.Air Force/Reuters)Bravo described th...