When Daryl Bradley celebrates Independence Day, he will be doing so in honor of three American hostages rescued this week from Colombian rebels.

The Haverhill native was part of the Air Force medical evacuation squadron that flew to Colombia on Wednesday to pick up the Americans.

"This is what we live for, to bring people home," said Bradley, an Air Force staff sergeant based at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina. "This is probably going to be one of the biggest honors of my life. I can't imagine a better way to spend the Fourth of July."

The three Americans — Thomas Howes, Marc Gonsalves and Keith Stansell — were U.S. government contractors whose plane crashed more than five years ago in Colombia, where they were captured by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or the FARC.

The three contractors, along with kidnapped Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, were rescued on Wednesday with 11 other Colombian police and soldiers that had been held captive up to 12 years. The military rescue mission came off without a shot being fired after the Colombian military tricked the leftist rebels into handing over the hostages.

Bradley, 27, got the call that he was headed out on a mission Tuesday, but he wasn't told where or anything about it. When they were on their way to Colombia, he found out who they were going to pick up. The operation to release the hostages was already underway.

Bradley said he was excited to be a part of the mission, while also admitting there is always anxiety when going into a dangerous situation.

"Getting three people back from a rebel force like the FARC, there is always a risk," he said by telephone. "You just hope the government has the best intelligence possible and can do their best to get everyone out alive. This was an absolutely flawless operation."

Bradley said the three hostages were excited to be with Americans again and were in great spirits. The Associated Press reported yesterday that the hostages are in good condition.

Bradley said he tried to put himself in the men's place as they flew back to America, hearing their stories about what they went through and what they did. The men talked about how, throughout captivity, they would look forward to being free and talked about what they would do when they got back home.

"I can't even imagine," Bradley said. "It's a huge inspiration to anybody in the military or a civilian that gets captured - the will to survive, the will to work together and keep each other's spirits up."

Bradley's mom, Cynthia, said she received a call from her son before he left saying he couldn't say where he was going or what he was doing, and he would contact them in a few days. They received a phone call at 1 a.m. Thursday from their son saying he was back safe with the hostages. His parents turned on the news and were surprised to see their son interviewed on camera.

"Normally he doesn't like to do interviews, but I think he was very happy this happened," she said. "He was very honored to be part of the crew."

Cynthia Bradley said she and her husband, Kenneth, support their son.

"He is doing what he loves to do and we are very proud of him," she said.

Haverhill Mayor James Fiorentini planned to honor Bradley's family at the July 4th celebration last night, which was dedicated to veterans and local heroes.

"We certainly consider him one of our local heroes," Fiorentini said. "We are thrilled a Haverhill kid was involved in this historic rescue."

Rescuing hostages was a change from the work Bradley has been doing in the war on terror. Many of his missions have involved picking up wounded soldiers in Iraq and flying them to medical care outside of Iraq.

Bradley was raised in Haverhill and graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1999. He went to Rochester Institute of Technology where he studied computer engineering, but he discovered he liked medicine while driving the ambulance for the college as his work study job. He joined the Air Force in Sept. 2003 and has flown on missions all over the world as a medic.

Bradley said no matter what else he does in his life, this mission will always stand out for its success and importance.

"The U.S. is never going to forget about an American that has been captured. This is the best result you could possibly ask for," he said. "These are three amazing individuals and it is really awesome to have them home."

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.