{"id":56738,"date":"2020-08-19T23:37:04","date_gmt":"2020-08-19T23:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/08\/19\/desert-one-documentary-chronicles-challenges-lessons-of-operation-eagle-claw\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:51:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T11:51:57","slug":"desert-one-documentary-chronicles-challenges-lessons-of-operation-eagle-claw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2020\/08\/19\/desert-one-documentary-chronicles-challenges-lessons-of-operation-eagle-claw\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Desert One\u2019 documentary chronicles challenges, lessons of Operation Eagle Claw"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nineteen-year-old Sgt. Kevin Hermening had never heard of Iran when he learned he was headed to the U.S. Embassy in Tehran as a Marine Security Guard in 1979.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Originally anticipating an assignment to the U.S. Embassy in Germany, Hermening visited the library to learn more about his new destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI thought a little bit to myself, \u2018Wow, I\u2019m going into a dangerous place but I\u2019ve been trained, I\u2019m a Marine, I\u2019m a young guy,\u2019\u201d Hermening told Military Times. \u201cYou don\u2019t get trained to four months later get captured and held for 444 days.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Nov. 4, 1979, Hermening was at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran when Iranian protesters stormed the building and seized him and nearly 100 others in what is known as the Iranian hostage crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an attempt to rescue 52 American hostages, then-President Jimmy Carter approved a covert mission involving elements from the Navy, Army, Air Force and Marines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the operation \u2014 dubbed Operation Eagle Claw \u2014 was unsuccessful and aborted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, an upcoming documentary directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple is examining each step of the mission with commentary from Hermening and other hostages, Iranian hostage-takers, service members who participated in Operation Eagle Claw, Carter and other administration officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDesert One\u201d also includes satellite phone recordings of Carter speaking with military leaders during the mission that have never been released until now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt finally tells the story from a lot of aspects,\u201d retired Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Richard \u201cTaco\u201d Sanchez told Military Times. \u201cI think people can look at it and go, \u2018Now I better understand.\u2019 Because there was many years afterwards that we couldn\u2019t say nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere\u2019s things that we who flew the operation didn\u2019t know until I saw the movie, of what Carter was doing and such,\u201d said Sanchez, who was then a staff sergeant assigned to the 8th Special Operations Squadron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mission required a minimum of six operational helicopters. But to be safe, two more were added. A total of eight Navy RH-53D helicopters would launch from the aircraft carrier Nimitz, which was positioned in the Arabian Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The helicopters would then rendezvous with six C-130 aircraft from Oman at a salt flat called Desert One approximately 200 miles from Tehran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From there, rescue teams would board the helicopters and travel to a mountain location just outside of Tehran before quietly driving to the Embassy in trucks, retired Army Lt. Gen. William \u201cJerry\u201d Boykin \u2014 then a major and Delta Force member \u2015 recounted in the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The objective, Boykin said, was to locate the hostages and take them to a nearby soccer field, where they would connect with the helicopters and evacuate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe helicopters would land in the soccer stadium next door,\u201d Boykin said. \u201cWe\u2019d blow a hole in the wall of the Embassy, get those hostages. Go into the soccer stadium, load them up, and we would all take off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;\u201cSo that was the plan,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xnSGvR0pZ0g\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although those selected to train for the mission suspected there was some correlation to the hostage crisis, it wasn\u2019t until April 23, 1980, that then-Maj. Gen. James Vaught confirmed the goal was to bring the American hostages back to the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen Vaught said that \u2015 you talk about American pride, it was off the chain,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cEverybody knew we had one mission and we were going to make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On April 24, they were given the green light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPresident Carter came over the satellite radio and said, \u2018It\u2019s a go. Godspeed and bring the hostages home.\u2019 That was your last and final pep talk before we took off,\u201d Sanchez said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The film then details how the mission went awry, using animation to illustrate various mishaps at Desert One. First, mechanical problems plagued one of the helicopters, and then another encountered a dust storm, preventing them both from arriving at Desert One.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That meant the mission was down to six helicopters \u2015 a number still considered adequate for operational success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But when another helo suffered a hydraulic problem the mission was aborted, and plans to attempt it once more the following day were penciled in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As one of the helicopters repositioned itself for refueling, however, a \u201cbrown out\u201d from swirling sand caused the helicopter to veer off course and crash into a C-130 aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A total of eight U.S. service members died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt wasn\u2019t until all the airplanes got on the ground in Oman that we actually knew which crew was lost, and who in the crew,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cWe had to do a headcount, which is the toughest headcount you\u2019ll ever do in your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou sit down and then it hits you: we failed. We left 52 American hostages in Iran, and eight of our brothers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three Marines were lost during the mission: Sgt. John D. Harvey, Cpl. George N. Holmes, Jr., and Staff Sgt. Dewey L. Johnson. So were five airmen: Capt. Richard L. Bakke, Capt. Harold L. Lewis, Tech. Sgt. Joel C. Mayo, Capt. Lynn D. McIntosh, and Capt. Charles T. McMillan II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the film\u2019s most gruesome aspects includes the imagery of charred bodies at the scene of the accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI didn\u2019t like the bodies,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cThat\u2019s a tough piece for me because I know each one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although Kopple acknowledged the unsettling nature of the scene, she stands by her decision to include it in the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you don\u2019t see it, you don\u2019t feel it, you let it go,\u201d Kopple told Military Times. \u201cWe can\u2019t sanitize what\u2019s happened. People have to know the harsh, raw truth in order to understand how important it is for the people who were willing to sacrifice their lives for what they believed in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the tragedy, Operation Eagle Claw was the impetus for several critical changes across special operations, including paving the way for the creation of U.S. Special Operations Command in 1987.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOut of the ashes came the phoenix,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cI could tell you unequivocally, there\u2019s no doubt in anybody\u2019s mind that was on that mission \u2015 had we succeeded, there would be no special operations &#8230; nothing that we see today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/11\/04\/40-years-later-how-the-iran-hostage-crisis-shaped-the-future-of-special-operations\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"201\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19268378528742.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">40 years later: How the Iran hostage crisis shaped the future of special operations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Thanks to an amendment included in the 1987 National Defense Authorization Bill, SOCOM was formed nearly seven years after Eagle Claw on April 16, 1987.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, the survivors of the mission vowed to support the 17 children who lost their fathers during Eagle Claw, an initiative that led to the birth of the <a href=\"https:\/\/specialops.org\/\">Special Operations Warrior Foundation<\/a>, which has since funded the education of nearly 900 American children who have lost parents assigned to SOCOM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The operation also served as measure of hope for the hostages, who learned about the attempted mission two months after the fact, Hermening said, when a sports newspaper given to the captives included a letter-to-the-editor referencing those who died in the rescue attempt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere was more than just a little bit of an element of success in the area of this rescue mission,\u201d Hermening said. \u201cAnd that was the fact that when we learned that they had tried despite the tragedy in the desert&#8230;that gave us the hope, allowed us to withstand another eight months.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the more than 50,000 \u201cWelcome Home\u201d letters Hermening received labeling the hostages \u201cheroes,\u201d he still doesn\u2019t view it that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe weren\u2019t heroes, we were just victims of circumstances,\u201d Hermening said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe were there doing our job, and we got caught up in a bad situation. &#8230; There were heroes in the hostage crisis, and they were the eight men whose bodies were left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDesert One\u201d is scheduled for an Aug. 21 release in more than 100 theaters across the U.S. An on-demand digital release is also slated for Sept. 4 on various platforms, including Apple TV+, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.desertonemovie.com\/tickets\/\">Check the schedule<\/a> to see if the film is playing in a theater near you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The film is coming to more than 100 theaters across the U.S. starting on Aug. 21.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":98869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-post-observation-post","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":72,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,23,93,72,12,25,13,69],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3303],"class_list":["post-56738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-military-culture","category-news","category-newsletters","category-off-duty","category-your-marine-corps"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"N2PSF74KZREMLGLTICMAYOY7OQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2020\/08\/19\/desert-one-documentary-chronicles-challenges-lessons-of-operation-eagle-claw\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"observation-post","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018Desert One\u2019 documentary chronicles challenges, lessons of Operation Eagle Claw - Marine Corps Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The film is coming to more than 100 theaters across the U.S. starting on Aug. 21.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2020\/08\/19\/desert-one-documentary-chronicles-challenges-lessons-of-operation-eagle-claw\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Desert One\u2019 documentary chronicles challenges, lessons of Operation Eagle Claw\" \/>\n<meta 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