Secretary of War Pete Hegseth drew some parallels between the timing of the Easter weekend rescue mission of a downed U.S. Air Force officer behind enemy lines and the resurrection of Jesus Christ nearly two thousand years ago.
Speaking at a Monday briefing at the White House, Hegseth could not help noting that the timeline of the rescue operation suggested God may have had a hand in its positive outcome.
When the downed weapons systems officer activated his transponder after hiding himself on a remote mountainside in southwest Iran, his first message was “God is good,” Hegseth recounted.
The secretary of war pointed out the officer was “Shot down on a Friday — Good Friday — hidden in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday, and rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday.”
“A pilot reborn, all home and accounted for, a nation rejoicing: God is good.”
.@SecWar: “Shot down on a Friday — Good Friday — hidden in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday, and rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter.” pic.twitter.com/1GWtaiYoyj
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 6, 2026