HOSTAGE RESCUE IN IRAQ — THOMAS PAYNE’S MEDAL OF HONOR STORY
April 6, 2023Ethan E. Rocke,Marty Skovlund Jr.
Rangers lead the way, and that’s exactly what Army Sgt. Maj. Thomas “Patrick” Payne did on Oct. 22, 2015, during a daring hostage rescue in Iraq. For his actions that night, Payne received the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony on Sept. 11, 2020.
Payne, a native of South Carolina, enlisted as an infantryman in 2002. He completed several combat deployments as a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment and in various other positions within Army Special Operations Command. He was wounded in action in Afghanistan in 2010.
In 2015, then-Sgt. 1st Class Payne, was serving as an assistant team leader in Iraq as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. His task force was assigned a mission to rescue more than 70 hostages being held by ISIS in a prison compound in Hawija.
With knowledge of freshly dug graves awaiting the prisoners, the commandos and their Iraqi counterparts were rushed to the objective in blacked-out helicopters.
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