Scott O'Grady
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| Scott O'Grady | |
|---|---|
| Born October 12, 1965 | |
 Scott O'Grady (center) at a press conference after the Mrkonjić Grad incident. |
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| Nickname | Zulu |
| Place of birth | Brooklyn, New York |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1989-2001 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | 555th Fighter Squadron "Triple Nickel", 31st Fighter Wing |
| Battles/wars | Bosnian War *Operation Deny Flight |
| Other work | author:Return With Honor, Basher Five-Two, speaker |
Scott F. O'Grady (born October 12, 1965 in Brooklyn, New York) is a former United States Air Force fighter pilot who gained prominence after the Mrkonjić Grad incident, in which he ejected over Bosnia when his F-16C was shot down by a Bosnian Serb SA-6 while he was patrolling the no-fly zone. He also participated in the Banja Luka incident where he fired upon one enemy aircraft.
The Mrkonjić Grad incident occurred near Mrkonjić Grad in Serb territory. He survived for six days by eating leaves, grass and ants, and avoiding Serb patrols while trying to contact Magic, NATO's airborne command center. He evaded capture and was rescued on June 8, by U.S. Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit based on the USS Kearsarge.
The film Behind Enemy Lines is loosely based on his story. Although he gave it a positive rating on the movie review television show Hot Or Not, he sued the movie company in 2002 for making the film without his permission. O'Grady authored two books along with Michael French and Jeff Coplon detailing his experiences of being shot down over Bosnia and his eventual rescue — Return with Honor and Basher Five-Two (O'Grady's call sign).
The incident was later depicted on the documentary television program Situation Critical in episode #5 "Downed Pilot", and "Escape! - Escape From Bosnia: The Scott O'Grady Story" on the History Channel.
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[edit] Personal
O'Grady graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, Washington. He is a former cadet in the Civil Air Patrol and a 1989 Air Force ROTC graduate from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Three years after he was rescued, O'Grady left active duty in the U.S. Air Force. In May 2007, he completed a master's degree in biblical studies at Dallas Theological Seminary.
[edit] References
[edit] Bibliography
- O'Grady, Captain Scott (with Jeff Coplon). Return with Honor, New York: Doubleday, 1995. (ISBN 0385483309)
- O'Grady, Scott (with Michael French). Basher Five-Two: The True Story of F-16 Fighter Pilot Captain Scott O'Grady, New York: Doubleday, 1997. (ISBN 0-385-32300-X)
- Kelly, Mary Pat. "Good to Go": The Rescue of Capt. Scott O'Grady, USAF, from Bosnia, Naval Institute Press, 1996. (ISBN 1-55750-459-8)
[edit] External links
- "All-American hero's errors bring Nato down to earth". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/allamerican-heros-errors-bring-nato-down-to-earth-1590222.html.
- "O'Grady calls rescuers who saved American pilot 'heroes'". CNN. 1999-03-30. http://edition.cnn.com/US/9903/30/ogrady/index.html. Retrieved 2006-07-30.
- "Captain Scott F. O'Grady (profile)". Last Frontier Council, Boy Scouts of America. http://www.lastfrontiercouncil.org/character-counts-speaker-06.htm. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
- "Pilot sues over Bosnian escape movie". BBC News. 2002-08-20. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2205560.stm. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
- More Information on the rescue of Scott O'Grady
- National Geographic Critical Situation profiles Scott O'Grady's story
