On February 15, 1991, A-10 pilots Phillis (A-10 79-0139) and 1st Lt. Rob Sweet flew together for the 30th time. The pilots’ target was a massive formation of Iraqi armor in the deserts of Kuwait.

After making several successful passes, a surface-to-air missile (SAM) was fired at Sweet’s plane. He deployed flares to escape it. A second SAM hit him from behind, blowing off part of his wing and sending his plane into a steep spiral. Sweet ejected. When his parachute opened, he was dangling over the elite Iraqi armored division he had just finished bombing and strafing.

Phillis flew an orbit over the armored division to draw fire away from Sweet’s descent. He fired flares to draw the attention of the Iraqis, making his A-10 a target. An Iraqi SA-13 missile hit his plane, lighting it on fire. His plane crashed in the Kuwaiti sand. After U.S. forces liberated Kuwait, they found the wreckage of Phillis’ A-10 with his remains still inside.

Sweet was captured by the Iraqi military when he landed and became a POW for 19 days. It wasn’t until after his release that he learned that his wingman, Capt. Steve Phillis, was shot down while trying to save him.