A daring mission derailed (1980 Iran hostage rescue)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100424/NEWS01/704249869#a-daring-mission-derailed

By Matthew Hansen WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER Published Saturday April 24, 2010

The Omaha pilot circled above the Iranian desert, his adrenaline still crackling after an all-night flight to the rendezvous point.

Warren Weaver had practiced this moment for five months, trained for a mission so secret he didn't know where he would be going until hours before he left.

Everything is good, he thought on April 24, 1980. Everything is going according to plan.

Another Omaha pilot readied for takeoff.

David Valenta had already hidden his nametag, his Strategic Air Command badge and $1,000 in cash in his sleeping bag at an Egyptian airfield.

Now he mentally prepared to join “Operation Eagle Claw,” a mission so daunting that one officer compared it to the Alamo except this time Davy Crockett would have to fight his way in.

This is really happening, Valenta thought as he strapped himself in.


FULL story at link.