Bat 21 Bravo: The Most Daring Rescue of the Vietnam War episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 20, 2026 · 38 MIN

Bat 21 Bravo: The Most Daring Rescue of the Vietnam War

from Our American Stories · host iHeartPodcasts

On this episode of Our American Stories, on Easter Sunday 1972, 53-year-old Air Force navigator Gene Hambleton was shot out of the sky over Vietnam. He landed wounded and alone in the middle of the North Vietnamese Army's massive Easter Offensive, surrounded by tens of thousands of enemy troops. Worse, Hambleton possessed some of America's most sensitive knowledge of missiles, electronic warfare, and nuclear targeting. The order was clear: bring him home.What followed became the largest and most complex search-and-rescue operation of the Vietnam War. This is the extraordinary story of Bat 21 Bravo and the astonishing price Americans were willing to pay to leave no man behind. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 20, 2026

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Bat 21 Bravo: The Most Daring Rescue of the Vietnam War

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