Who was Bob Pardo? All you need to know as hero of Pardo’s Push in Vietnam War dies aged 89

Vietnam War hero and the inventor of the popular and most iconic Pardo's Push, Bob Pardo passed away on Tuesday, December 5. The Texas native was 89 years of age. Pardo's radical push in order to save his fellow wingman from getting killed in enemy territory by literally pushing the aircraft into safety is considered to be one of the United States Air Force's most told stories.

The brave Lieutenant Colonel Bob Pardo had pushed his wingman into safe territory by pushing his plane against the tailhook of his wingman's damaged flight back in 1967. Pardo, who was initially almost court-martialed because of his heroics, was later awarded the Silver Star.

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Bob Pardo and his legendary push

Robert Pardo is a Vietnam War vet and United States Air Force legend. He was bestowed with the Purple Heart, an Air Medal with twelve Oak Leaf Clusters, and multiple Distinguished Flying Crosses. While serving in Vietnam, Pardo was a part of the 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing at Ubon Royal Thai AFB, Thailand. It is here that Pardo performed his iconic maneuver.

The decorated officer retired from the Air Force in 1974 and moved on to corporate flying, before finally retiring from flying in 2002. He married a woman named Kathryn in 1992 and has a big family consisting of 5 kids, 10 grandkids, and 11 great-grandkids. Pardo's obituary reads:

"Anyone who met Bob would always be in for a great conversation and a good laugh, unless a John Wayne movie was playing."

It continues:

"In his spare time, he was an avid golfer and spent many hours at Golds Gym, but the most important people in his life were his wife Kathryn, kids, grandkids, and great grandkids."

A family photograph posted on Pardo's obituary (Image via Dignity Memorial)

It was March 10, 1967, and the United States' war with Vietnam was in full swing. It was Bob Pardo's birthday, and he was reportedly not supposed to fly that day, but he did not check what day it was. Pardo joined in on a bombing run in his F-4C Phantom II. The target was the Thai Nguyen steel mill north of Hanoi, which was heavily protected.

Seated behind Pardo was his weapon's officer, Lt. Steve Wayne, and in another flight among the four that were commissioned for the mission was Capt. Earl Aman and Lt. Robert Houghton. Both Pardo's and Aman's F-4Cs were damaged due to heavy ground fire. Aman's aircraft was losing a ton of fuel due to the damage.

Pardo said in a 2015 Veterans in Blue interview that he knew that he had to do something because if they had ejected then, they would've been captured in North Vietnam. He revealed:

"At that time, if you were captured by civilians, you were probably going to be murdered on the spot."

When Bob Pardo's attempts to both nudge and piggyback Aman's aircraft failed, in what has now become a revolutionary move, he radioed Aman to cut his engine and put down his tailhook, a retractable hook under the plane near its tail that helps with landing on aircraft carriers. He initially positioned the tailhook on his aircraft's canopy, but it slid off, and the canopy started to crack.

Later, Pardo somehow helped the hook onto an area below the plane's windshield made out of metal. All the passengers hoped to cross into Laos, a safe area before ejecting but after almost ten minutes of the 88-mile journey, Bob Pardo's engine caught on fire and he had to turn it off which caused them to lose altitude.

However, despite protests from Lt. Steve Wayne, Bob Pardo turned back on the engine and miraculously kept it on for 8 more minutes, successfully crossing into friendly territory. Aman and Houghton ejected first, and Pardo and Wayne followed after a few minutes. All of them successfully escaped enemies and were picked up by their fellow men, with Pardo being the last to be picked up.

7th Airforce commander, Lieutenant General William Wallace 'Spike' Momyer, who was unhappy with Pardo for compromising his multi-million dollar jet, nearly court-martialed him but was stopped by wing commander Colonel Robin Olds. In 1989, his case was re-examined and Bob Pardo was rightfully bestowed with the Silver Star, more than 20 years after his heroics.

Pardo retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel, two decades after he started his career in 1954 when he was 19 years old.