(NewsNation) — Hundreds of Americans are back home after being stuck for the past week in war-torn Israel. Their return is thanks to a mission executed by Project Dynamo, a veteran-led professional rescue organization.
Families with nearly 100 children among them had no clue when they’d get home, if ever. And for every success story, there are dozens more still trying to get out.
“How we got on this plane was a miracle from God because we had no way to get out,” said Ron Neumann, whose family was helped by Project Dynamo. “We were in an area that was getting constant bombardment. Bombs going off, the Iron Dome working, and running into the bomb shelter.”
As a Vietnam veteran, this was Neumann’s second time returning home from a war zone. But this time, getting off the plane and walking onto the tarmac felt different.
“I see all these people standing around. Then, we went in and everybody started cheering. I got goosebumps all over because I had never experienced anything like that,” Neumann said. “It was unbelievable.”
Since it began, Project Dynamo has conducted nearly 600 missions, rescuing thousands from dangerous conflict zones like Ukraine and Afghanistan.
The group’s founder Bryan Stern said they’ve heard from hundreds of people who are trying to get out of the region.
“We’re going to get them out however we can,” Stern said. “We have maritime options as our last resort.”
Nobody knows that tenacity better than Kirillo Alexandrov, who was living in Ukraine last year when he was taken prisoner by Russian forces. He called the organization and they were able to get him out 37 days later.
“Project Dynamo doesn’t lose,” said Alexandrov. “If you’re stuck on the moon, Bryan will get you out.”
The latest rescue efforts were accomplished with help from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the State’s Office of Emergency Management, who funded the flight for 270 American evacuees.
“All in all, we’re probably sitting right around $4 million on that particular flight with all of the services, hotel stays, rental cars — anything that we had to get to help the people get back to their homes,” said Kevin Guthrie, the executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
Now, Project Dynamo is carrying out “Operation: Promised Land” to get people back home safely amid the war between Israel and Hamas.
“These folks are not names on a spreadsheet. We don’t know a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy. We put our own skin in the game. The night before we flew, we were getting misled and I was doing a meeting from a bomb shelter,” Stern said.
Stern, a combat veteran himself, said the group has an important, unspoken rule: “We don’t come home until they come home.”
That means when the flight lands and people are off the plane.
Project Dynamo members only have a short break before they’ll return to the Middle East for another mission.