For Christians, Easter is a time to reflect on Christ’s death on the cross on Good Friday and to celebrate His victory over death when He rose from the grave on Easter Sunday. All of us at the James Dobson Family Institute hope you and your family enjoyed a blessed Easter.
This year, on Good Friday, we received the news that two US airmen had ejected from their fighter jet after they were hit by enemy fire over Iran. In the hours that followed, and in the midst of celebrating Easter, millions of Americans prayed for those men and their families.
Fortunately, the pilot was quickly rescued. The weapons officer, however, was trapped behind enemy lines—an enemy not known for mercy.
For nearly forty-eight hours, the wounded airman, with only a pistol for protection, climbed 7,000 feet and hid in rugged mountains to avoid capture.
Hundreds of US special forces, as well as an Israeli special forces unit, worked around the clock to find him. They had to repeatedly eliminate enemy troops closing in. Eventually, they were able to extract him safely from Iran.
They accomplished that “miracle” on Easter Sunday. President Trump, seeing the symbolism, called it “an Easter miracle.”
When the weapons officer ejected from his crashing jet, facing possible death or being taken prisoner, he sent a brief message, “God is good.” Simple and true. This was a man of faith.
He followed Jesus Christ and trusted God, as do many members of our military. This has been true since the beginning of our nation. Obviously, people of other faiths and no faith have heroically served and often paid the ultimate price, too. We thank God for all of them.
The motto of the elite Air Force pararescue unit is “These Things We Do, That Others May Live.” The Bible says, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13 NIV).
I believe God’s hand was in these events. It’s not just part of the war in Iran, but part of the spiritual war raging in America about whether we will rededicate ourselves to being one nation under God.
This airman believed his fate was in the hands of the God of the Bible, as well as in the hands of the brave men and women of our US military.
Our nation’s fate also depends on God and on our heroic military willing to defend our freedom.
Fortunately, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth knows American history and understands that our nation must rely on the God of the Bible. Every month, he sponsors overtly Christian voluntary worship services at the Pentagon. When he prays at public events, he does so “in the name of Jesus Christ.” He is reforming the Chaplain Corps to make it clear that they are permitted to counsel soldiers consistent with the soldiers’ faith traditions, including the Bible. He has led prayers for victory over our enemies.
All of this is too much for the radical secularist groups. There has been a barrage of attacks in the media claiming that Secretary Hegseth is violating the “separation of church and state.” They are even angry that he has evoked God’s name in asking for victory over our enemies.
A recent article in the Washington Post ran this headline: “Invoking faith in wartime, Pete Hegseth breaks norms and worries critics.”1 The truth is the exact opposite. Throughout our entire history, our military and civil leaders have asked for God’s protection as our sons and daughters confronted our enemies. It was actually the Biden administration that broke “norms” by promoting transgenderism in the ranks and showcasing male servicemen who wore dresses.
At the Continental Congress in 1776, as our nation fought for its freedom, our Founders prayed for George Washington and his troops, writing: “May it please the Lord of Hosts, the God of Armies, to animate our officers and soldiers with invincible fortitude, to guard and protect them in the day of battle, and to crown the Continental arms, by sea and land, with victory and success.”2
On D-Day, June 6, 1944, as US troops began the liberation of Europe from German Nazism, President Franklin Roosevelt led the nation in prayer in a nationwide radio address. It began, “Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity. Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith. They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.”3
The American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State would be outraged today by such rhetoric. But they are the ones “breaking norms” by trying to rip Christianity out of the fabric of American civic and military life.
Dr. James Dobson loved the American military. He was a student of American history. We often talked about God’s blessings on those who defend our nation in a world filled with dangers. God bless our country and God bless our military.
- Tiffany Stanley, “Invoking Faith in Wartime, Pete Hegseth Breaks Norms and Worries Critics,” The Washington Post, March 29, 2026, https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/03/29/pege-hegseth-christianity/.
- Continental Congress, “Proclamation for a Day of Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer,” March 16, 1776, Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel04.html.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, “D-Day Prayer,” radio address, June 6, 1944, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, https://www.fdrlibrary.org/d-day.
