Posted on 07/01/2021 4:08:47 PM PDT by PROCON
On Thursday, the U.S. Army announced it had approved upgrades to the medals 60 special operations troops received from 1993’s Operation Gothic Serpent in Somalia, also known as the Battle of Mogadishu or “Black Hawk Down.”
In total, 58 special operations troops were upgraded to Silver Stars, the third-highest U.S. military decoration for valor in combat. Two more special operations troops were upgraded to Distinguished Flying Crosses, which recognizes acts of heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight.
The Oct. 3, 1993 battle in Mogadishu, Somalia was part of a U.S. Army mission to capture Somali warlord Mohammed Farrah Aidid. The attempt to capture Aidid and disrupt his militants was launched after Aidid had attacked United Nation’s peacekeeping forces supporting relief efforts during Somalia’s civil war.
During the Battle of Mogadishu, two U.S. UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were shot down, and the mission that originally intended to capture Aidid transformed into a mission to recover the crews of the two helicopters and evacuate from the city. 18 members of the U.S. task force were killed and 106 more were wounded.
“On the afternoon of Oct. 3, armed militants shot down two MH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, after which U.S. ground forces converged on the two downed aircraft to recover the personnel,” the Army said Thursday, “The ensuing intense firefight resulted in the loss of 18 American Soldiers and remains an especially significant point in the history of the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Special Operations Command specifically.”
The Somali combatants’ death tolls from the battle are estimated in the hundreds.
The Army announced the upgraded awards will be presented later this year in separate commemoration ceremonies hosted by each of the units in which the particular soldier served at the time of the mission nearly 28 years ago.
The Army did not name which U.S. soldiers who participated in the battle would see their medals upgraded.
Following the downing of the two Black Hawk helicopters, Delta Force Soldiers Master Sgt. Gary Gordon and Sgt. 1st Class Randy Shughart elected to respond alone to one of the crash sites, despite growing mobs threatening the rescue effort.
Gordon and Shughart arrived at the crash site and fended off numerous attackers before being overwhelmed and killed as they attempted to save one of the pilots, Michael Durant.
In a 2008 interview with Defense Media Network, Durant said Gordon and Shughart were “textbook special ops guys” who showed no signs of panic as they held off attacks for about 15 minutes.
After Gordon and Shughart were killed, Durant was captured by Aidid’s loyalist fighters and held prisoner for 11 days, before eventually being released.
Gordon and Shughart were later awarded the Medal of Honor for their efforts to rescue Durant and defend the downed helicopter.
The events of the Battle of Mogadishu were retold in the 1999 book “Black Hawk Down” and the 2001 movie of the same name.
Hollywood couldn’t even begin to create a story as tragic as the real events.
Amazon is featuring the “ Black Hawk Down : The Untold Story”
A real life documentary of the true Clusterflock our heroes really endured.
And how it was the Army’s 2nd Battalion 14th Infantry Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division who really saved the day. Excellent documentary and worth the time to watch.
Thanks, I’ll check the documentary out.
Waiting for ilhan omar’s view on this. To be sure she’ll have something to say about our troops that ‘did something’. Bet a buck she had a relative or 2 trying to kill our guys in that battle.
I’ve watched it twice- 2nd time with my neighbor who was dispatched to Somalia at the time, and was part of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division. Though he was at a different part of the country. Even he didn’t really know all the facts and was truly amazed.
Post #11 shows an article from 2 years ago where she criticized the military’s Somalia operation.
I know one of these guys. He took a bullet trying to save people.
Hopefully he’s one of the “upgrades”
L
I hope the brave pararescue airmen and NCOs from the US Air Force 24th Special Tactics Squadron get some extra recognition. I know one of them got a Silver Star and rest Bronze Stars, but these guys jumped into the crash locations without any other support available and started first aid for the injured Army crews and had to fight off the Somalian militia at the same time.
Agreed.
I talked briefly to Warrant Officer Michael Durant back around 1999. He said his MP-5 he kept in the cockpit saved his life. He considers the issue Beretta a boat anchor. He shot dozens of Somalis that jumped over a wall one at a time towards him.
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