If you were like me, you learned about the April 24, 1980 US raid into Iran to rescue American hostages on the news the next morning. Commentators spoke of a secretive US military force and an aircraft accident. While the raid itself was unsuccessful, the units involved only became better and more determined.
My introduction to what was worn by the rescuers on this mysterious raid was from a plate in an Osprey Elite book on Special Forces.
The Black Field Jacket with taped US Flag and Watch Cap became an image burnt into my head. Turns out, like most things, it wasn’t quite that simple. A series of photographs released years later, which were taken at the intermediate staging base in Oman prior to infil, depict a wide variety of clothing and jacket mods being worn.
Dave Hall, President of the Silent Warrior Foundation charity had recently contacted me about a fundraiser in conjunction with their upcoming Whiskey and War Stories event honoring Operation Eagle Claw which will focus on the participants and the hostages they were intent to rescue.
One of the Unit members had offered to allow Dave and team access to his modified M65 and Alpha Industries had donated some Field Jackets to be modified in a similar fashion so that they could be auctioned off to benefit the charity. Knowing how much I love kit and SOF history, he asked if I was interested in helping. I jumped at the chance and put him in touch with Kory Brown of Berspitze Customs to discuss doing the actual modification.
Last Friday, I was lucky to be asked to participate in an unboxing video at S&S Precision for the project, along with Dave and Kory. The box contained quite a few surprises including some sand from Desert One.
The jacket reproductions and many other items will be available for auction on www.auctionfrogs.org during the event.
