Today marks the 38th anniversary of Operation Eagle Claw, the abortive attempt to rescue 52 United States embassy staff held hostage in Teheran, Iran.

The mission was aborted early on when only 5 of 8 helicopters arrived at the staging area. Mission planners believed that only 4 helos were necessary to achieve the mission, but had set 6 as the minimum number for a go.

Reconnaissance of the staging area showed a hard-packed surface. Unfortunately, a desert storm between the recon and the mission execution deposited a heavy layer of very fine sand at the staging area. This layer of sand directly led to the collision of the RH-53 helicopter and the EC-130. The collision killed 5 Air Force servicemen on the EC-130 and 3 Marines on the helo.

The eight servicemen honored today include three Marines: Sgt. John D. Harvey, of Roanoke; Cpl. George N. Holmes Jr., of Pine Bluff, Ark.; and Staff Sgt. Dewey Johnson, of Dublin, Ga. The five Air Force personnel honored were Maj. Richard L. Bakke, of Long Beach, Calif.; Maj. Harold L. Lewis Jr., of Fort Walton Beach, Fla.; Tech. Sgt. Joel C. Mayo, of Harrisville, Mich.; Capt. Lyn D. McIntosh, of Valdosta, Ga.; and Capt. Charles T. McMillan of Corryton, Tenn.

I worked with an Air Force enlisted man who took part in this mission. He was still very emotional about it when we talked. Hope he’s OK today.

If there’s a positive note to the failure of this mission, it’s that the U.S. military really began to take Special Operations much more seriously. The creation of the 160th SOAR is a direct result of Eagle Claw’s failure.

I’d appreciate it if we didn’t go all political with respect to this anniversary.

Wikipedia actually has a really good write-up on the mission.