Maj. Gen. Mike Plehn, the vice commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, speaks during the Operation Eagle Claw memorial ceremony at Hurlburt Field, Fla., June 23, 2017. Operation Eagle Claw was an attempted rescue mission on April 24, 1980, into Iran to liberate more than 50 American hostages captured after a group of radicals took over the American embassy in Tehran, Nov. 4, 1979. The mission resulted in the deaths of eight service members at a remote site deep in Iranian territory known as Desert One.

---

Size: 1732px × 1155px
Photo credit: © Dudley Little / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 8th, afosc, air, america, archive, armed, army, claw, defence, eagle, field, florida, force, forces, hurlburt, iran, military, navy, operation, operations, reportage, service, serviceman, servicemen, soldier, sos, special, specops, squadron, states, united, usa