On 60 Minutes, Airman Bravo credits faith for his survival

What happened: 60 Minutes recently sat down with Airman Bravo, a member of the two-man crew that was shot down over Iran back in April. It was the first time he’d spoken publicly about the crash and the fifty hours spent behind enemy lines, and the added details paint a much more vivid picture of what that experience was like. 

Why it matters: Throughout the interview, Bravo took several opportunities to give God glory for his rescue. From his time plummeting to the earth—his parachute was damaged in the attack—to watching the Iranians draw closer to his position, the conversation served as an excellent example of what it means to give thanks in all circumstances rather than for all circumstances.  

The backstory: An interview worth watching

Since the war with Iran began in late February, eighteen American service members have died as a result of the combat. By all rights, that number should be at least one person higher. 

Back in April, the story of a two-man crew who were shot down across enemy lines gripped the nation. It took six hours to find the pilot, codename Alpha, and bring him back to safety. However, the second member, codename Bravo, was beyond the reach of that initial operation. 

What followed was a harrowing fifty hours in which Iranian forces got within a few hundred meters before a team of more than ninety US service members was able to save him as well. That the rescue happened on Easter morning seemed particularly fitting.  

Their story is in the news once again after 60 Minutes secured an exclusive sit-down with Bravo in which he recounted the crash, two days of waiting, and his eventual recovery. While the circumstances around that interview have generated some controversy—more on that in a moment—the conversation itself is worth revisiting, if for no other reason than to celebrate Bravo’s return once again and to find inspiration from the way he used that opportunity to point people back to God rather than keeping the glory for himself. 

“Lord, your will be done. But . . . I need help”

The entire interview is worth your time, but two parts in particular will stick with me going forward. The first pertains to when the F-15 was hit by a shoulder-fired rocket. After the two crew members ejected, Alpha was able to get away without much trouble. 

The same was not true for Bravo, though. The attack damaged his parachute, leaving it in tatters; a fact he only realized after ejecting and realizing there was nothing to slow his descent. As he describes in the interview,

At one point, when I looked up and saw no parachute, that was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen. So I paused, right then, and I prayed, “Lord, your will be done. But if I’m getting through this, I need help.”

He spent the rest of his fleeting time in the air fighting with the scraps of cloth floating above him in an attempt to arrest his momentum, but still hit the ground at an estimated seventy to one hundred miles per hour. The collision with the ground broke his back, an arm, and a shoulder, but left him able to walk. 

Bravo said the results were “a modern-day miracle” and a “testament to God’s provision,” adding that he doesn’t believe there can be another explanation. 

From there, he climbed roughly 7,000 feet to the top of a nearby ridgeline before finally feeling secure enough to send a message back to the base. And that message is the second aspect of this story that will stay with me for quite some time. 

Bravo started with “‘God is good,’ as a recognition of all that he had brought me through.” He then told them that he was hurt, but moving.   

Bravo would spend the better part of two days waiting for rescue, at times able to see Iranians searching for him nearby. A combination of bombing runs from the military and misdirection campaigns from the CIA kept him safe until they were eventually able to get to him. 

Was the interview “propaganda?” Does it matter?

As amazing as it was to hear Bravo’s story in his own words, not everyone believes that’s what the interview represents. Some have denounced the segment as “propaganda to boost the perception of Donald Trump’s unpopular war.” 

While there was much in the conversation that was meant to hype up what the American military accomplished in rescuing the downed pilots, the military also has a lot to be proud of. Touting the heroism and capacities of our soldiers is not propaganda if it’s true, and, in this case, it certainly seems like it is. 

And while Bravo sounded coached at times in some of his responses, he was trained to drop bombs rather than do interviews, so a bit of nerves and help in crafting his answers seems appropriate. The parts where he spoke about his faith and his appreciation for the military felt genuine, though, and certain aspects of what he endured still seemed difficult to discuss. 

Another criticism is that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had to talk Bravo into appearing on television and played an outsized role in shaping the interview’s structure. Again, there’s probably some truth to these allegations, but they do nothing to diminish the story Bravo shared. 

At the end of the day, what matters most to me is the fact that major networks across the country and around the world are running Bravo’s quotes about God’s goodness and the miracle of his survival. And while some may write that off as trivial, forced, or naïve, others will recognize the genuineness of his response and find encouragement in the truth that God is still in the miracle business, and he is still good. 

There will be times when our circumstances lead us to question that fact. But if Bravo can say it with a broken back and arm as he watches his would-be captors draw closer, what should keep you or me from doing the same? 

Spiritual application: God’s call to gratitude

Toward the end of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he includes a list of commands that pertain to how they should approach life. He included spiritual tasks like “Rejoice always,” “pray without ceasing,” and “hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–22). Sandwiched in the middle of that list is the instruction to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). 

Notice, though, that Paul writes, “give thanks in all circumstances,” not for them. The distinction is minor in terms of semantics, but enormous in significance. 

At no point in his interview did Bravo say that he was grateful that his plane was shot down. And while he believes—rightly, in my estimation—that God protected him on the way down, he still broke his back, along with his arm and shoulder, and had to walk up a mountain to wait almost fifty hours for rescue. 

Our omnipotent heavenly Father is capable of more than that. After all, the same being who calmed the sea and silenced the storm could have harnessed those same winds to further arrest Bravo’s fall or cause the missile to simply miss in the first place. And while his assessment of the situation is certainly celebratory now, there had to be times when giving thanks felt at least a little bit difficult. 

Or perhaps I’m merely projecting. 

To be honest, I’m not sure if I’d be able to pray for God’s will to be done while plummeting toward the earth, or to declare that he is good while broken, bruised, and fighting for survival. I hope that I would, but I also know myself well enough to be far from certain. 

If God’s call to us in such moments was to be thankful for our circumstances, then it would be far more difficult to remain faithful. However, since his word commands us to be thankful in all circumstances instead, obeying it is far more doable. 

Bravo didn’t have to be thankful that his plane was hit in order to appeal to God for help and be thankful for the help that he received. And the same is true for each of us as well. 

In the months since his crash and subsequent rescue, God has used Bravo’s story to fill headlines with reminders of his goodness. But that doesn’t happen if every prayer that was uttered by him or on his behalf was answered in the exact manner in which it was presented. 

So, the next time you’re facing a trial or life reminds you of your need for the Lord, make his prayer your own: “Lord, your will be done. But if I’m getting through this, I need help.” And then keep an open mind as to what the Lord’s will might look like in that situation. 

God’s answers don’t always mirror our requests, and a day is coming when we’ll have a more complete understanding of why. For now, though, the best we can often do is be thankful in our circumstances and trust the Lord to redeem them in ways that only he can. 

Is that enough for you?  

God is good

For most of Christian history, missionaries have gone from the West to share the gospel with other parts of the world. But what happens when the West begins to turn its back on that same faith? The thousands of missionaries being sent from Africa to Europe, Canada, and the United States are providing the answer. 

Kingdom impact

As Nigerian pastor William Kumuyi described, African churches can offer the West “a rekindled passion for the authority of Scripture, holiness of life, and expectancy for miracles.” Pastor and evangelist Jerry Eze added, “They preached God to us. We accepted him and wanted to know him. Now, we’re going back to show them what he can do.”  

Prayer point

It doesn’t seem like a coincidence that, in recent years, the West has been given ample reasons to be wary of those crossing our borders from African nations and elsewhere, even as many of those nations are beginning to send missionaries our way. Will you pray that God continues to move among the nations and that our brothers and sisters in Africa will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to make a real impact here? And will you pray that the broader cultural climate will not close people’s hearts and minds to the gospel that’s coming with them? 

CNN has more on the story