Secretary of War Pete Hegseth honored Americans who have been prisoners of war or who never returned home, but also highlighted one story of how the military will mobilize vast resources to rescue even one stranded soldier.
September 18 is both the U.S. Air Force’s birthday and National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Hegseth hosted a ceremony at the Pentagon Friday honoring American troops who went missing in action or who were prisoners of the enemy.
“The United States military leaves no man behind,” Hegseth promised. “Never before, and never still to this day. We refuse to forget the warriors from whom our nation demanded the ultimate and most agonizing sacrifice — not just the sacrifices of life in some cases, of course, but the sacrifice of identity, the sacrifice of a grave. Our warriors may have been missing in action, but that is only temporary, because we never leave a man behind.”
@SECWAR “The United States military LEAVES NO MAN BEHIND...
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) September 18, 2026
We refuse to forget the Warriors from whom our Nation demanded the ultimate and most agonizing sacrifice.” pic.twitter.com/Z5JzadVSjZ
The military says that at the present time, across American history and including such conflicts as WWII, the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and the War on Terror, fewer than 81,000 Americans still remain officially MIA. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery holds the remains of a few of these unidentified heroes.
Related: America 250: The U.S. Air Force’s Birthday
In order to illustrate his promise that the U.S. military does not leave men behind, Hegseth shared the famous story of the pilots shot down over Iran this year and rescued before Iranian terrorists could get to them. “‘I knew they were going to come.’ That was what the fighter pilot who the world now knows as Dude44 Bravo, said when he recalled the most excruciating hours of his life,” Hegseth began.
🔥🚨 NOW — Pete Hegseth is at the Pentagon for National POW/MIA Recognition Day — and he just told the story of "Dude 44A," the aircrew that went down over Iran.
— The Patriot Oasis™ (@ThePatriotOasis) September 18, 2026
Trump’s proclamation puts the number at about 80,000 U.S. servie members still unaccounted for.
Defense POW/MIA… pic.twitter.com/yWuNaBIDfm
The secretary of war recalled Dude44 Bravo's story. "It was soon after enemy fire hit his F-15E. He and his fellow crewmen ejected from the cockpit and landed in the heart of Iran. Cold and alone, with a broken back, a broken arm, broken shoulder, and bleeding, Bravo was five miles away from his other airman, call sign Alpha. Bravo was hurt, but he was moving. And he eventually sent a message back to his fellow warfighters, ‘God is good.’"
Someone in the U.S. leaked info he shouldn't have, and the Iranians knew there was a stranded U.S. pilot in their territory. The attention of multiple nations was on one injured pilot. "Bravo had little food and water, and the Iranians' search party was bearing down on his location, so he climbed up a mountain so they couldn't find him," Hegseth exclaimed. "He said that what gave him strength was, and I quote, 'I knew that America, whether it was one day or one year, was going to uphold its promise and rescue me. It's what we do,' he said. And so, on Easter weekend of this year, in the middle of the night, President Trump ordered the Department of War to do whatever is necessary to bring our warriors home. And that's what we did."
Hegseth affirmed proudly, "From the moment our pilots went down, our mission was clear. Countless aircraft, bombers, and fighters mobilized in a massive operation to get both of our American pilots, no doubt, no hesitation. And what unfolded, as President Trump has said, was the largest, most complex, most harrowing search and rescue mission ever attempted by our military. Special operators supported by elite air crews and intelligence professionals moved into the mountainous terrain. And with Iran closing in, our warriors never wavered."
DUDE 44 BRAVO: "It's hard to describe the depth of my gratitude, not just for those who came to get me but for millions of Americans that were supporting me... It's important for America to hear what we're capable of and remember that there are thousands of Americans that are out… https://t.co/HZUr7D4Svk pic.twitter.com/6WLueNIEHV
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 14, 2026
Because Americans never leave a man behind.
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