As an American citizen living in a foreign country, Philip Walton already had many difficulties and challenges in his daily life. However, things took a dramatic turn for the worse in October 2020, when criminals kidnapped him from his backyard. Walton was serving as a missionary in the border village of Massalata, Niger, when he was taken and held for ransom, one of several westerners in the region to have been captured.
Yet, less than a week later, after members from SEAL Team 6 had been assigned to the case, Walton was returned to his family safe and sound. Walton had been taken to neighboring Nigeria after being kidnapped in Niger, and ST6 carried out the raid there on October 31, 2020. ST6 was able to track the kidnappers through their cell phones, and a team of more than two dozen SEALs participated in the airborne operation. The team had to hike to find the kidnappers and Walton after parachuting into the area, but they made quick work of the criminals.
What made ST6's rescue so dramatic is that they likely saved Walton from a horrendous fate. Had ST6 not acted as quickly, Walton would have been sold to Nigerian terrorists, where he would have been held for ransom or possibly killed. Planning and carrying such an intense and high-profile mission in a matter of days is pretty incredible, once again demonstrating why ST6 is considered among the best of the world's elite special forces.
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