It has been done.
Do you know the story of Ross Perot and his successful rescue of hostages from Iran in 1979?
It happened in the Jimmy Carter era and was a totally civilian operation. Ross Perot And The Iranian Hostage Rescue
That is the time Iranian militants took 66 Americans hostage and held most of them for 444 days, finally releasing them when Ronald Regan was elected President.
Ross Perot was a graduate of the US Naval Academy and a successful computer salesman.
He was a brilliant, action oriented man who went on to found his own company, Electronic Data Systems, known as EDS.
His company was very successful and made him a multi-multi-millionaire.
(One million 1978 dollars is equal to almost $5 million 2023 dollars today)
When the Iranian crisis came about in 1978-1979 EDS had about 130 employees in Iran carrying out work Iran had contracted the company to do.
Ross brought most them out of Iran when it became obvious serious trouble was brewing but left a few key people there to complete the work.
Iranian militants ousted the Shah, overthrew the government and declared Iran ro be an Islamic Republic.
They began taking Americans hostage including two of Perot's employees.
He tried to get them released through diplomatic channels and offered to pail bail or ransom but was unsuccessful.
So he pulled together a rescue team who infiltrated into Iran and were able to successfully get his employees out of Iran and returned to the USA.
It is an inspiring true life story of Americans at their best in the face of terror.
There is a book entitled "On The Wings Of Eagles" about the rescue and there was also a TV mini Series about it.
