US Air Force legend Robert “Bob” Pardo, known for his selfless action known as “Pardo’s Push” during the Vietnam War, has died Dec. 5 in College Station, Texas.
He was 89.
On March 10, 1967, Pardo, then a US Air Force captain, and weapons officer 1st Lt. Steve Wayne were deep in enemy territory on a bombing run in Vietnam.
Flying alongside another F-4C Phantom airplane, piloted by Capt. Earl Aman and 1st Lt. Robert Houghton, the pair of jets tasked with eliminating North Vietnam’s only steel mill, which was heavily fortified with anti-aircraft guns and artillery.
Both aircraft started taking enemy fire from the ground, damaging both Pardo’s and Aman’s Phantoms.
“We took at least one hit, maybe two, right in the belly of the airplane,” Pardo recounted in a 2015 interview with the Air Force Veterans in Blue program.
After taking the initial enemy contact, Aman’s airplane was hit again and lost too much fuel to get out of enemy territory and return to base safely.
“I knew if I didn’t do anything, they would have to eject over North Vietnam into enemy territory, and that would have resulted in their capture for sure,” Pardo said. “At that time, if you were captured by civilians, you were probably going to be murdered on the spot.”
In a selfless act to save his fellow airmen, Pardo pushed Aman’s jet using the nose of his aircraft against Aman’s tailhook — a retractable hook on the underside of the plane used to assist with landing.
