Vietnam Vet, His Wife, Their Cats Rescued from Kyiv After Fellow Vets Saw His Story on The Faulkner Focus

Former Army Special Ops Intel Officer and Fox News contributor Brett Velicovich told Harris Faulkner on Wednesday that she and her show deserve some credit for his organization’s rescue of an American veteran and his family from near Kyiv over the weekend.

Project Dynamo has been working to help those trapped in war-torn Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s unprovoked invasion, which under Vladimir Putin‘s dictatorial hand has become increasingly bloodthirsty and particularly focused on civilians, as President Joe Biden has pointed out.

Project Dynamo, which is made up of American veterans and civilian volunteers, helps people in war zones get out safely. They’ve done so in Afghanistan and are doing the same in Ukraine – in at least one case the same person from both conflicts.

Over the weekend they helped to rescue retired Sgt. 1st Class Robert “Bob” Platt, his wife, “and the couple’s cats” from a town northeast of Kyiv.

Velicovich and Faulkner discussed how media, and her own show, were part of that. Veterans watching the show last week were able to make the connections and identify Bob Platt, who Velicovich says might not be alive today without that.

VELICOVICH: They want to cut information. They think that nobody should know the local situation here so that it puts people in panic, and Putin doesn’t want people, especially his own citizens, to really understand what’s going on here.

FAULKNER: So Bret, you and I have talked about the importance of special ops and people being near those journalists and other civilians. It’s really critical, because you have the ability to help protect them. And in fact, the media play a huge role in how some of you are doing that. And even this show, The Faulkner Focus, don’t want to put that light on us, but it is an example that you have told us about. Can you tell the audience?

VELICOVICH: Well, yeah, I mean, I think you’re talking about Bob Platt, a veteran of the eighty second airborne, I was fortunate enough to play a small role in this incredible rescue of an American veteran trapped behind enemy lines. And look, there’s a lot of refugees right now that have gotten out, millions of them, in fact.

But now, inside here, you really have three categories of people. You’ve got the ones who have accepted their fate, no matter what the cost and are staying. You’ve got the ones who are waiting in safer areas to see if Russia continues its push further west, in which case they will leave in masses. And then you have the ones who waited too long to leave, who are stuck behind Russian lines in areas with the most heavy fighting taking place and trapped under a barrage of artillery fire from both sides. Not just the Russians, by the way, they’re taking fire from the Ukrainians as well.

And Bob Platt, a veteran of the 82nd Airborne – who served in Vietnam, in Panama – and his wife were one of those people who fell into that last category. They waited too long because Bob stayed to protect his wife. I mean, he’s he’s the essence of an American hero, Harris. His home was literally surrounded on both ends of the street by Russian tanks. He was hiding in his basement for weeks as incoming fire rained down on them daily. And at one point, his neighbor ran out of water and even left to try and get supplies and was shot by Russian troops in the process.

But even despite all those risks, Bob was text messaging us at all hours of the day, providing real time intelligence information on the location of Russian tanks, troops, their order of battle in his neighborhood, risking his own life just to pass this critical information. And so, the incredible team at Dynamo, you know, they came together and figured out a way to get them safe safely out and into Poland, where he remains right now.

But, what hasn’t been said Harris about this story and what I want you to know and your viewers to know is that you all played a role in this.

I was on your show last week and, because of that, I was contacted directly through Facebook by veterans of Bob’s old unit in the 82nd Airborne, and I’m a former eighty second airborne veteran of the Iraq War myself. And they contacted – they were in contact with Bob immediately after realizing he was trapped in Kyiv. And I got a hold of these guys and they immediately put me in touch with them. And so without you, without your viewers, we wouldn’t have known who Bob Platt was, and he might not be alive today, and my understanding is that his home was bombed shortly after he got out.

And so this is why we’re here, Harris. This is for the Bob Platts of this world. This is why we’re doing this. So reach out to me directly and we’ll try and get others help out there, reach out to groups I’m supporting right now, like HARPRescue dot org. We need more vans. We need more ambulances in country. We need more medical supplies like IFAKs and chest seals. We needed this yesterday. We’ll take all of it and it’s going to go directly to the front lines of this war, to the people who need it the most.

FAULKNER: That is really helpful information like the listing that you just gave and apparently people are watching and heeding that and able to to help you help others. Thank you for sharing that. I didn’t know all of the details of it until just right the second, but glad to play a part in any way as an American. Brett, thank you. Stay safe. We will continue to check back. It is amazing bravery that you showed just even talking to us because I know every time you go up your target, be safe, my friend.

VELICOVICH: I appreciate you, Harris. Thank you.

It’s a pretty stark illustration of the power of media and the ability to share information to save lives. And it is that exact power that Putin is crushing in his crackdown on a free press. This is why.

For more info, find Project Dynamo or Humanitarian Aid and Rescue Project (HARP) online.