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October 2003
- From: Harrisburg, PA
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Battle of Mogadishu, Oct 3, 1993; aka "Black Hawk Down"
Posted by theranddav
on Friday, October 3, 2008 6:33 AM
Unfortunately today is the 15th anniversary of that tragic day. Keep these brave men and their families in your thoughts and prayers today. Dave Battle of Mogadishu
On the afternoon of October 3, 1993, informed that two leaders of Aidid's clan were at a residence in central Mogadishu, the task force sent 19 aircraft, 12 vehicles, and 160 men to arrest them. During the mission, Private Todd Blackburn missed the rope while fast-roping from an MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and fell 70 feet to the street below, badly injuring himself. The two Somali militia leaders were quickly arrested. The prisoners and the injured Ranger were loaded on a convoy of ground vehicles. However, armed Somalis converged on the target area from all over the city. During the first hours of the battle, the MH-60 Black Hawk, Super Six One, was shot down by a Rocket Propelled Grenade fired from the ground. Although firing an RPG upwards from the ground can be fatal to the shooter, he managed to survive. The pilots did not survive. However, the crew survived the crash landing and held off the advancing Habr Gidr militia until the one and only rescue team was able to recover them.
Later another Black Hawk, Super Six Four, was shot down by RPG fire from the ground. This time no rescue team was immediately available, and the small surviving crew, including one of the pilots, sat tight while a Delta team headed toward the crash site. When the Delta team of two arrived, they attempted to secure the site. One of the Delta operators was shot, leaving only the pilot and one Delta operator. Eventually, after holding off Somalians, the second Delta operator was killed and the pilot remained sitting peacefully, waiting to be killed. The militia, however, were surprised to find the pilot on the other side of the helicopter and took him hostage after beating him violently.
The battle turned out to be the most intensive close combat that US troops had engaged in since the Vietnam War. In the end, two MH-60 Black Hawks were shot down (as well as one seriously damaged) and 19 US soldiers were killed along with 1 Malaysian soldier on the rescue convoy. Estimates of Somali dead are around 1,000 Somali Militiamen killed during the battle. The Delta Force Snipers SFC Randall Shughart and MSG Gary Gordon were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for their efforts.
NOTE: 18 Americans died in the actual battle; SFC Matt Rierson died two days later after a mortar attack on the US compound.
CW3 Donovan Briley
SSG Daniel Busch
CPL James Cavaco
SSG William Cleveland
SSG Thomas Field
SFC Earl Fillmore
CW3 Raymond Frank
MSG Gary Gordon
SGT Cornell Houston, died on October 6 after evacuation to Germany.
SGT James Joyce
PFC Richard Kowalewski
PFC James Martin
MSG Timothy Martin
SGT Dominick Pilla
SFC Matthew Rierson, died on October 6 during a mortar attack.
SGT Lorenzo Ruiz
SFC Randy Shughart
CPL James Smith
CW4 Clifton Wolcott
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