Mission Iran
Special Forces Berlin & Operation Eagle Claw JTF 1-79
James Stejskal, Casemate, 2024, 192 pages
Book Review published on: August 22, 2025
On the evening of 24 April 1980, Clem Lemke, John "Scotty" McEwan, and Dick Meadows were at a remote landing zone southeast of Tehran, Iran, awaiting the arrival of helicopters carrying special operating forces that would rescue U.S. embassy personnel who were being held hostage by supporters of Iran's 1979 Revolution. As time passed into the early morning hours of 25 April, with sunrise only a few hours away, the men grew concerned that the helicopters had not yet arrived. Eventually, they received a garbled transmission on their satellite radio from their higher headquarters, indicating that the mission was delayed. They then went back to Tehran and returned to their hotels with plans to resume the mission the following evening. In his hotel room, Lemke was shaving and listening to an international news broadcast on his portable radio and learned that President Jimmy Carter had publicly announced that the mission to rescue U.S. hostages in Iran had failed—he then realized that he, McEwan, Meadows, and several other men on their team, had to exfiltrate Iran immediately.
Lemke, McEwan, and Meadows's scout mission in Iran is part of several stories chronicled by James Stejskal in Mission Iran: Special Forces Berlin & Operation Eagle Claw JTF 1-79. Stejskal, a former Army Special Forces soldier, served with Detachment A Berlin, a.k.a. Det A, which participated in U.S. military efforts during 1980 to free U.S. personnel held captive in Iran. The author describes Det A's activities, explaining how Lemke and McEwan executed the CIA's reconnaissance mission in Tehran, how Det A prepared for its mission to secure U.S. hostages in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment—Delta, or "Delta Force," would do the same at the U.S. embassy for Operation Eagle Claw, and how Det A prepared for a second mission after Carter aborted the first attempt.
Stejskal presents a lot of information for readers to understand Det A and its contribution to attempts to rescue U.S. hostages in Iran. The author explains how the detachment came into existence and how it evolved into a capable counterterrorism force that eventually became an essential player in Operation Eagle Claw. Stejskal also provides details on some of the unit's key operators like Lemke and McEwan, as well as the organization's equipment and training programs, which gives readers a general understanding of Special Forces' capabilities during the time of the operation.
Mission Iran: Special Forces Berlin & Operation Eagle Claw JTF 1-79 is an interesting book. Stejskal's detailed explanation of Det A's role in Operation Eagle Claw is a subject that often appears to be overlooked in most historical accounts of the U.S. efforts to resolve the Iran hostage crisis from 4 November 1979 to 20 January 1981. Lemke and McEwan's account of their scout mission in Tehran is particularly interesting, and Det A's training and preparation for the second mission, which was eventually cancelled, is intriguing. Stejskal's work is a worthwhile reading for anyone interesting in learning more about how the United States attempted to apply the military instrument of power during the Iran hostage crisis.
Book Review written by: Dirk C. Blackdeer, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas