Today we remember our fallen heroes...

[Ender 8]

Ten years ago today, a small contingent of US Army Rangers and Delta Force members dropped into Mogadishu, Somalia to capture Mohammed Farrah Aidid's senior staff. As most of us know, their half-hour mission turned into a desperate 15-hour firefight. I wrote this essay in rememberance of the heroic actions of Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart.

They Were Heroes

An Essay about the Heroic Actions of Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart

Most people in the world do not know who Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart are. A great loss, on their part, for they are two of the bravest men who ever lived, yet largely have gone unrecognized. Their story is a sad one, but it should be known to every true American.

On October 3, 1993, members of the Army's Rangers and SOCOM's Delta Force went on a mission into the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu, to capture Gen. Mohammed Farrah Aidid?s staff. Aidid was a warlord who was hijacking U.N. food shipments to the citizens of Somalia. The mission went awry when the soldiers ran into greater than expected opposition. The Somalis began shooting down U.S. helicopters. The helicopter containing Chief Warrant Officer Michael Durant went down.

Riding in a Black Hawk flown by a pilot by the name of Geoffena, call sign Super 62 was the Delta Sniper Team, consisting of Shughart, his team leader Gary Gordon and another sniper by the name of Hallings. They heard about Durant's Black Hawk going down and there was no way a rescue team could be inserted in time. The Somalis were closing in. The Black Hawk crew didn't stand a chance. Shughart, Gordon and Hallings picked off numerous Somalis, but at the same time, the chopper took a lot of hits. A couple of other gunships came in to help and they were successful in somewhat holding the crowds back. Meanwhile, Shughart and Gordon made their third request to go in. They could provide first aid, set-up a small perimeter, and possibly hold back the armed crowd until a reaction force showed up. Just maybe. Shughart knew it was a gamble. But they were confident. Both were good at killing. They made a formidable team. Geoffena braved the ground fire and hovered about two meters above the ground. There was a small brown-out with sand and dirt blowing which made it hard to see. Shughart got wrapped up in his safety line at the last second and had to be cut free. Gordon had a hard time seeing as he ran for cover and tripped and fell to the ground. They made it to cover but weren't sure in the maze of huts which way to go. Geoffena pointed the way. Shughart and Gordon worked their way through a maze of shanties following the smoke a crew chief had popped. They got to Durant first and lifted him out of the wreckage. Then they moved to the starboard side to help out the rest. That's when the Somalis came in and started checking out the wreckage. Durant shot at them with his MP-5. He heard more firing on the other side of chopper. About a hundred meters away was a Little Bird, OH-6, waiting to help load the wounded. They were so close. But the Black Hawk crew was too badly wounded and couldn't be easily moved to the Little Bird. Besides, the OH-6 was a sitting duck out there in the open and they were running low on fuel. They left.

Gordon shouted out that he was hit and then nothing more. Shughart came around to Durant's side and asked if there were any more weapons onboard. When Gordon got hit, Shughart picked up his rifle and now gave it to Durant. Then he asked for the emergency frequency on the radio. Shughart made an urgent call and he was told to hang tight, that a reaction team was en-route. The Somalis closed in by the dozens. Shughart grabbed his rifle and ran back to the opposite side of the wreckage to face the music. At first there was only sporadic firing. Then the Somalis got organized and suddenly a heavy barrage of automatic fire opened up. It sounded like a torrential downpour that lasted about a minute. Shughart, completely out of any ammo, was hit and fatally wounded. It was all captured on video by the P3's flying overhead.

They radioed to the command on the ground,

Indigenous personnel moving around the second crash site. Over."

Indigenous? Over." "Affirmative. Over."

That was it.

Durant was captured and spent several days as a prisoner. He was the only survivor. The CIA quietly negotiated for the release of the bodies of the dead American soldiers, including Shughart and Gordon. Of those, Gordon's body was the most badly mutilated and was dropped off in a plastic garbage bag at the front of the U.S. mission. Throughout their involvement in the firefight, all who were around Gordon and Shughart commented on their composure and coolness. No matter how hopeless it seemed (or was) the two commandos carried out their mission smoothly and without fear. Said Geoffena, "anyone in their right mind would never have gone in."

As a result of their actions, the United States Government awarded the two commandos the Medal of Honor for their honor and bravery against insurmountable odds.

Works Cited

?Bowden, Mark. Black Hawk Down. New York. Penguin Putnam, 1999

?Durant, Michael J. In the Company of Heroes. Penguin Group (USA) Inc. 2003

?Congressional Medal of Honor Society http://www.cmohs.org.com

[Alexander 0]

Damn, that was in October? May those who have fallen and those who survived be remembered.

[Ender 8]

Yeah, it was October.

[Alexander 0]

Obviously. :p

[chozen 1]

And if we're on the subject of moarning dead soldiers.. 1000 somalians died that day to 17 americans..

[Ender 8]

Those 1000 Somalis died because they were trying to kill the Americans. Actually, they fired first at us. Rules of engagement state that you shall not fire on someone unless fired upon by them. So they were fair game.

[Alexander 0]

[chozen 1]

Still.. It the US wasn't begged to come over and have a little tea party. They put forces into their country without permission.

1000 people died because they were told to. It's not like they really had a choice.

[Radioactive Isotope 29]

hey, Janson, i saw this while surfin the web and thought you would appreciate it.

[Ender 8]

Wow, JM... thanks.