Battle of Mogadishu 4 October 1993
4 October, 2012 Leave a comment
Today is the 19th anniversary of the Battle of Mogadishu. The battle was memorialized by the book and movie “BlackHawk Down”. On 3 and 4 October 1993, members of the U.S. Army 75th Rangers, 160th SOAR, Delta, 10th Mountain, Navy SEAL’s and USAF PJ’s and CCT’s participated in a mission to capture Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. During the mission 2 BlackHawk helicopters were downed by RPG fire. The ensuing battle lasted 2 days, and caused the life of 18 American servicemen, plus NATO troops. The enemy dead count is believed to be 1500-2000. Civilians were also killed as they were used as shields by the enemy. In some cases it was reported that women and children also fired upon the U.S. Forces.
The following table is from the Wiki article, “Battle of Mogadishu”
Please take a moment in honor of our troops.
| Name | Age | Action | Medal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta | |||
| MSGT Gary Gordon | 33 | Killed defending the crew of Super Six-Four | Medal of Honor, Purple Heart[29] |
| SFC Randy Shughart | 35 | Killed defending the crew of Super Six-Four | Medal of Honor, Purple Heart[29] |
| SSGT Daniel Busch | 25 | Crashed on Super Six-One, mortally wounded defending the downed crew | Silver Star, Purple Heart[56] |
| SFC Earl Fillmore | 28 | Killed moving to the first crash site | Silver Star, Purple Heart[57] |
| MSG Timothy “Griz” Martin | 38 | Mortally wounded on the Lost Convoy | Silver Star, Purple Heart.[58][59] |
| 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment | |||
| CPL Jamie Smith | 21 | Mortally wounded with the pinned-down force around crash site one | Silver Star with Valor Device and Oak leaf cluster, Purple Heart[60] |
| SPC James Cavaco | 26 | Killed on the Lost Convoy | Bronze Star with Valor Device, Purple Heart[61] |
| SGT Casey Joyce | 24 | Killed on the Lost Convoy | Bronze Star with Valor Device, Purple Heart[61] |
| PFC Richard “Alphabet” Kowalewski | 20 | Mortally wounded on the Lost Convoy, died later that day | Bronze Star with Valor Device, Purple Heart[62] |
| SGT Dominick Pilla | 21 | Killed on Struecker’s convoy | Bronze Star with Valor Device, Purple Heart[62] |
| SGT Lorenzo Ruiz | 27 | Mortally wounded on the Lost Convoy, died en route to a hospital in Germany | Bronze Star with Valor Device, Purple Heart[62] |
| 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment | |||
| SSG William Cleveland | 34 | Crew chief on Super Six-Four, killed | Silver Star, Bronze Star, Air Medal with Valor Device, Purple Heart[63] |
| SSG Thomas Field | 25 | Crew chief on Super Six-Four, killed | Silver Star, Bronze Star, Air Medal with Valor Device, Purple Heart |
| CW4 Raymond Frank | 45 | Copilot of Super Six-Four, killed | Silver Star, Air Medal with Valor Device, Purple Heart[64] |
| CW3 Clifton “Elvis” Wolcott | 36 | Pilot of Super Six-One, died in crash | Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Air Medal with Valor Device, Purple Heart[63] |
| CW2 Donovan “Bull” Briley | 33 | Copilot of Super Six-One, died in crash | Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Air Medal with Valor Device, Purple Heart[65] |
| 2nd Battalion 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division | |||
| SGT Cornell Houston | 31 | Killed on the rescue convoy | Bronze Star with Valor Device, de Fleury Medal, Purple Heart[66] |
| PFC James Martin Jr. | 23 | Killed on the rescue convoy | Purple Heart[67] |
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