Introduction April the 2nd, 1972 back home was Easter Sunday. Meanwhile LTC Iceal Hambleton was the navigator of BAT-21, an EB-66 aircraft conducting electronic counter measures over enemy territory in Vietnam. This was his 64th mission flying in support of the B-52s, jamming radar and clearing a path through the airspace for them. His aircraft was struck by a surface to air missile (SAM) from directly below. Due to his expansive knowledge of weapons systems and what that would mean if he were captured, the U.S. military launched a massive effort to recover LTC Hambleton. The events to follow would change how we conducted personnel recovery forever, and arguably the start of the JPRC and SERE as we know it today. The story of BAT-21 is well…show more content… This was to have top priority over all other missions. During the morning of the second day, two attempts by helicopter were attempted, resulting in the crews barely making it out of enemy territory. The first of the two was damaged so badly that they had no cockpit indications left, and the flight control hydraulics had been shot out as well. Luckily the crew made a spectacular emergency landing with the aircraft catching on fire as they came to a stop on the runway. During the multiple rescue attempts and bombing runs that day, it was discovered that Hambleton had landed near a very active enemy supply route that was currently being used to stage a large attack from the north. One of the aircraft was able to get an accurate determination of Hambleton’s position, allowing greater precision of fire support to keep the NVA from capturing him. Later that day there was another jet shot down. One crew member was captured and the other ended up in the same position as Hambleton. After five days effort, we had 14 people killed, we had lost eight aircraft, we had two people captured, and we had three on the ground to be
