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Pilot's Escape in Attack Shows Risks in Mideast

The Wall Street Journal

February 28, 2026

U.S. Air Force pilots Lt. Col. William "Skate" Parks and Maj. Michael "Danger" Blea were returning from a strike mission in Yemen last year, when Houthi militants lit up their F-16s with targeting radar.

- By MICHAEL R. GORDON AND ANDREW DOWELL

Pilot's Escape in Attack Shows Risks in Mideast

U.S. Air Force pilot Lt. Col. William Parks was awarded the Silver Star Medal.

For 15 minutes, the pilots struggled to evade a halfdozen surface-to-air missiles.

This story is from the February 28, 2026 edition of The Wall Street Journal.

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