Downed U.S. pilot rescued in Bosnia in daring raid 20 years ago this hour (June 8 1995)


Video: 'Situation Critical - S01E05 - Downed Pilot' (rescue at 42:30)

(Thursday, June 8, 1995, 6:44 a.m. CEST; during Operation Deny Flight, part of the NATO intervention in Bosnia) — United States marines staged an audacious rescue mission into the Bosnian war zone after dawn today, snatching up a missing American fighter pilot from his hiding place in the woods and helicoptering him to safety through a smattering of Bosnian Serb missile and machine-gun fire.

The Air Force pilot, Capt. Scott F. O’Grady, had been on the move stealthily in hilly woodlands for six nights before his guarded radio signals allowed rescuers to verify his survival and home in.