SOF Pic of the Day: From Geo’s Private Stash-DELTA Operators in Prayer Before Operation Eagle Claw

In this 1980 photograph, then Colonel and Delta Force operations officer Jerry Boykin leads a group of Delta operators in prayer prior to the kickoff of Operation Eagle Claw.

Eagle Claw was the failed attempt at rescuing our hostages who were being held captive at the US Embassy in Tehran, Iran.

Boykin is a deeply religious gentleman and has been quoted as saying, “God led me to Delta Force…And He said to me, ‘This is where you ought to be.'”

Despite the failed mission, Col. Boykin maintained his faith and felt that he has witnessed a miracle. He said, “Not one man who stood with us in the desert and pleaded for God to go with us was killed or even injured that night.”

The photograph is presented here courtesy of SOFREP’s own George E. Hand IV

The remains of Desert One.