Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos
WATCH: Hegseth describes ‘pilot reborn’ on Easter in U.S. mission to rescue missing aviator
Posted
April 6, 2026
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4,831
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April 6, 2026
4,831
45
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1:31Now PlayingDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday described the U.S. government’s efforts to rescue an aviator deep into Iranian territory on Easter Sunday, the day marking the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“Shot down on a Friday – Good Friday. Hidden in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday. And rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday,” he said. “A pilot reborn, all home and accounted for. A nation rejoicing. God is good.”
President Donald Trump, flanked by Hegseth and other military officials, recounted in a news conference Monday how U.S. intelligence leveraged several aircraft and launched a deception campaign to confuse Iranian operatives to locate and extract two service members behind enemy lines.
“No American lives were lost. We leave no man behind – and that is not luck,” Hegseth said. “It's the result of unmatched training, superior technology, and unbreakable ‘warrior ethos’ and sheer American grit.”
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