There’s a memorial wall on the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) compound at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The wall honors those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom while assigned to the command—each represented by a single star. It’s a beautiful memorial, humbling and solemn.

The first eight stars on the memorial wall represent the fallen members of Operation Eagle Claw, the failed 1980 attempt to rescue hostages at the US Embassy in Iran. The mission was exceedingly complex, involving every branch of the military, eight C-130s, and six RH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters that would rendez-vous at a remote desert landing site in Iran code-named Desert One. Weather and mechanical failures prevented the full assault force from making it to Desert One, and the mission commander decided to abort the mission.

But under cover of darkness and with sand billowing as the force prepared to depart, one of the helicopters crashed into a C-130 carrying extra fuel, igniting a fire that killed five Airmen and three Marines. When the remaining assault arrived back to base, two cases of beer awaited them along with a note from their British hosts:

To you all

From us all

For having the guts to try