A Heroic A-10 Air Force Pilot May Receive Desert Storm’s 1st Medal of Honor
Vets
By Lauren Coontz | September 01, 2021
Spread out across six miles, the Iraqi Republican Guard’s elite 2nd Al Medina Armored Division lumbered across the Iraq desert Feb. 15, 1991. Two US Air Force A-10 Warthogs passed overhead, providing attractive targets for the 10,000 Iraqi soldiers amassed below. The Iraqis ultimately shot down both attack aircraft, killing Capt. Stephen R. Phillis and capturing his wingman, 1st Lt. Robert Sweet.
The first surface-to-air missile hit Sweet’s A-10. After Sweet had ejected, Phillis deliberately drew enemy fire using highly visible flares to give his wingman, who was vulnerable in his parachute, time to safely land.
While lingering under heavy fire for 3 minutes and 45 seconds, Phillis sent radio messages to search and rescue units, noting Sweet’s downed location. The Iraqis ultimately took Sweet as a prisoner of war and shot down Phillis’ A-10 with a surface-to-air missile. Phillis, who never ejected, was killed.
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