Gary I. Gordon was born in Lincoln, Maine, and graduated from Mattanawcook Academy in 1978. It is believed that Gordon was the first to be killed. . These Shortly after, Randy Shughart was killed, and Durant was taken alive. Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader unhesitatingly volunteered to be inserted to protect the four critically wounded personnel, despite being well aware of the growing number of enemy personnel closing in on the site. There are few military servicemen who have received the Medal of Honor and had their actions portrayed in a Hollywood movie. Shughart was buried in Carlilse, Pennsylvania and Gordon in Penobscot County, Maine. In the ensuing battle two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters were shot down. Press J to jump to the feed. Speaking about the pairs heroic efforts in Somalia, Clinton said: Gordon and Shughart knew their own chances of survival were extremely bleak. The U.N. declared an end to the mission in April 1994. Gordon (1960-93) was born in Lincoln, Maine, a mill town of 5,000 nestled in the northern forests. Their request was denied by command twice, but the men persisted. Gordon and Shugart are among the Americans honored on Memorial Day, which remembers those who died serving in the military. Master Sergeant Gordon continued to travel the perimeter, protecting the downed crew. I want him to rest in peace and let him go, she said then. They were at the Black Hawk with the call sign Super 62 (Super Six Two). As the second Blackhawk, containing Chief Warrant Officer Michael Durant, was hit and crashed, Master Sergeant Gary I. Gordon and Sergeant First Class Randall D. Shughart, were in a nearby Blackhawk monitoring radio traffic. Shughart and Gordon were both awarded purple hearts and medals of honor for their bravery and sacrifice. Anyway, for my build, I did the ARMS #18 mount because it had the appropriate height. certified instructor prior to handling any firearm and be sure to read your owners manual. The bodies were returned in poor condition, one with a severed head. In our content, you will see two faces regularly. Some could barely speak for weeping; others said they found little relief in knowing the soldier in the picture was someone elses husband or son. Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart were the only soldiers participating in Operation Gothic Serpent (Battle of Mogadishu) to receive the military's highest honor and the first Medal of Honor recipients since the Vietnam War. Howe said that Gordon would not have given his weapon to someone while he could still fight. His actions saved the pilots life. Which mother had kissed that face, or which wife that mouth with its crooked teeth? Learn all the ways IBDs top investing tools can help you succeed in the market! The same honor was bestowed upon Randall Shughart a year later, when the roll-on/roll-off ship USNS Shughart was named in a ceremony at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego. Without a doubt, they saved my life. Shortly afterwards, Shughart was killed and Durant was taken alive. Two Delta Force operators Master Sgt.Gary Gordon and Sgt.1st Class Randy Shughart were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions to secure the site of one of the Black Hawk crashes to recover survivors. The withdrawal was not the fruit of victory; Somalia remained in deadly disarray. Police said the body had been found in a wooded area of Brighton, close to where the . 1st Class Randall D. Shughart and Master Sgt. Why are we still having these debates? Sergeant First Class Shughart continued his protective fire until he depleted his ammunition and was fatally wounded. Set down close by the crash site, Gordon and Shughart jumped out from the helicopter and immediately went to the aid of the fallen men. Despite having inflicted heavy casualties against the Somalis, the two Delta snipers were too outnumbered and outgunned. [12] He then proceeded to openly criticize the president, telling him, "You are not fit to be president of the United States. What is A person who sells flower is called? Two elite Delta snipers, Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart volunteered to be inserted at the site by another Black Hawk, knowing help was far away down the hostile, roadblocked avenues of. It was later reported Durant initially misidentified who was killed first, but did not wish to change the official record. In 1993, Gordon's body was eventually buried and brought back to his hometown in Maine. Delta Force operatives dont typically wear a uniform and, even when they do, the nature of that uniform is classified and no one outside of the Unit would be able to recognize it. The scenario-based is on Mark Bowdens bestseller Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War. The optic is sitting right on top of the action. Shughart and Gordon are dropped 100 meters from the site and the two men held off a horde of Somali attackers and ultimately saved the life of the lone survivor of the crash, Chief Warrant Officer Mike Durant. Was he Sgt. MOGADISHU (Reuters) Somali insurgents dragged soldiers bodies through the streets of Mogadishu before burning them on Wednesday in heavy fighting that killed at least 16 people and injured scores more, witnesses said. Randy Shugart put up during their last stand. In 1989, Gordon was with the outfit in Operation Just Cause, the invasion of Panama to capture its dictator, Manuel Noriega. Mike Durant survived and is alive today. On the beach near the base, a memorial was held for those who were killed in combat.". PFC. [1] According to Durant's book In the Company of Heroes, the Somalis counted 25 of their militia dead after the firefight. Sergeant First Class Shughart's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest standards of military service and reflect great credit upon him-self, his unit and the United States Army. Randy Shughart and Gary Gordon fought their way to the downed Blackhawk. Was he Chief Warrant Officer Raymond Frank, 45, a pilot for 27 years who dearly loved flying? How many Delta Force died in Black Hawk Down? 1 Were the bodies of Randy Shughart and Gary Gordon recovered? Purple Heart. For their acts, they were awarded the highest military decoration, Medal of Honor, for the first time after the Vietnam War. Popeye Field watched the news that day both fearful and transfixed as a U.S. soldier was dragged like a dead dog through the dust of Mogadishu by jubilant Somalis. Concerning Shughart and Gordan, Durant made the comment Without a doubt, I owe my life to these two men and their braveryThose guys came in when they had to know it was a losing battle, There was nobody else left to back them up. Place and date: 3 October 1993, Mogadishu, Somalia. The lowest optic mount I could find to give us that look is the ARMS #18 mount. Shughart left active duty and went into the Army Reserve in June 1980. Required fields are marked *, Visit our friends and partners at Nortrack for tracking and other tactical training. The story of Black Hawk Down began when Delta Force arrested 20 Somalis. The term M1A is a proprietary title for Springfield Armorys M14-pattern rifle. Deadly Price The Army task force did capture Aidid's advisers, but at high cost. Content on this website is free to use and share, but please provide a link back to Spec Ops Magazine as a source. Later investigation and reconstruction concluded that Gordon was the first to be killed. Was he Sgt. On May 23, 1994, President Clinton awarded Gordon and Shughart the Medal of Honor, joining just 3,000 others in two centuries. In the movie, there is a single scope ring at the front of the receiver holding an Aimpoint CompM. Its on GunSpots YouTube channel right now. The award read in part: "Master Sergeant Gordon's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty reflect great credit upon him, his unit and the United States Army.". The death toll was terrible enough, but one single, sickening sight--a still photograph of a mutilated dead soldier, tied with rope before a jeering crowd--chilled many who had continued to think charitably about the United States purpose in Somalia. [1], Shughart joined the United States Army while attending Big Spring High School in Newville, entering upon graduation in 1976. During the assault, a Black Hawk helicopter was shot down and the rescuers were ambushed. Marten, 35, or Gordon, 48, were arrested in Brighton at 9.30pm on . The pilot of Gordon and Shughart's Black Hawk first attempted to land right next to the crash site of Super Six-Four, but the LZ was too hot - a flood of small arms fire, RPGs, and an excess of ground debris and fire made insertion impossible.So instead of putting down in the middle of the action, Gordon and Shughart jumped from the hovering helicopter 100 meters from the crash site, getting . Mogadishu. Even though we happen to know that person wasnt our son, she said, it could have been. All rights reserved. After putting the gun back together, I ended up putting on a National Match leather sling to get the same look from the film. The only way to rescue survivors was for the Gordon-Shughart-Hallings copter to go in. body was put in a trash bag and dumped at the US Mission. Equipped with only his sniper rifle and a pistol, Master Sergeant Gordon and his fellow sniper, while under intense small arms fire from the enemy, fought their way through a dense maze of shanties and shacks to reach the critically injured crew members. The bodies of 50 Somalis were later found surrounding the chopper. So now, lets talk about the build. Both pilots were killed in the resulting crash and two of the crew chiefs, Staff Sgt. Live The Armory Life. Mission commanders denied their request; in fact, they said that the situation was already too dangerous for the three Delta snipers to effectively protect the Blackhawk crew from the ground because overwhelming Somali militias outnumbered them. Sergeant First Class Shughart, United States Army, distinguished himself by actions above and beyond the call of duty on 3 October 1993, while serving as a Sniper Team Member, United States Army Special Operations Command with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu, Somalia. Ray Dowdy and Staff Sgt. Atto was a former supporter and financier of Aidid, and of the same subclan. Shughart was assigned to Delta Force and was transferred to Fort Bragg, North Carolina in June 1986. Michael Durant was released after 11 days of captivity. Eighteen Americans were killed. As he was preparing to fast rope from Super 67, Blackburn missed the rope, falling between 60-90 feet ( 18.29m-27.43m). Heres a list, Greek transportation minister resigns over train collision as death toll keeps rising, Ohios senators to unveil rail safety bill in wake of East Palestine derailment, After months of pounding, Ukrainian official says military may pull back from Bakhmut, Elizabeth Holmes cites her new baby as a reason she should avoid prison for Theranos scam. This page was last edited on 31 December 2022, at 02:43. I highly recommend seeing this exhibit (and the rest of the museum). [6] Shughart's body was eventually recovered and is buried in Westminster Cemetery, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Both Delta snipers, Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart, are portrayed in the Hollywood blockbuster Black Hawk Down. Gordon's was the most mutilated out of all of the dead American's The award read in part: "Master Sergeant Gordon's . Brad Halling, a master sergeant in the U.S. Army special forces, or Green Beret, was part of a U.S. Blackhawk helicopter team that rapelled onto the Olympic Hotel in Mogadishu with the aim of capturing some top aides to fugitive warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. 2022 - 2023 Times Mojo - All Rights Reserved the bodies including Gary Gordon's at the second crash site was Their ammunition nearly depleted, Gordon and Shughart were killed by Somali militias gunfire. Gradisher said he did not know if the Pentagon had even identified the soldier in that indelible photograph--taken by Toronto Star reporter Paul Watson and distributed worldwide by the Associated Press--or other bodies shown in television footage. Meritorious Service Medal. It's a site that collects all the most frequently asked questions and answers, so you don't have to spend hours on searching anywhere else. Instead, it was inspired in great part by the revulsion of the American people when they saw the humiliating spectacle made of that one slain soldier. Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader unhesitatingly volunteered to be inserted to protect the four critically wounded personnel, despite being well aware of the growing number of enemy personnel closing in on the site. Master Sergeant Gordons extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest standards of military service and reflect great credit upon him, his unit and the United States Army, Gordons citation says. Honours and Awards Combat Infantryman Badge with Star (denoting 2nd award). On October 3, 1993, they engaged in Operation Gothic Serpent, a joint-force assault mission to apprehend key advisers to Mohamed Farrah Aidid, a Somali warlord. Warmer storms could cause problems, Jaguars, narcos, illegal loggers: One mans battle to save a jungle and Maya ruins, Dr. Simi is a TikTok star. When his other family needed him, he did not hesitate, as he would not have hesitated for us.". His teachers thought he was smart, but his grades drifted because he was obsessed doodling "anything and everything military-related," his mother told a reporter. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Raid: How Delta Force Took Out Notorious Terrorist? 2000-2023 Investor's Business Daily, LLC. Again, out of ammo, he was only able to retrieve one weapon and five rounds, which he gave to Durant and said Good Luck. Gordons body was eventually recovered and is buried in Lincoln Cemetery, Penobscot County, Maine. You dont need an individuals name to express horror at the treatment of the bodies.. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. On the first call, mission commanders denied their request to go there and protect the site of the downed helicopter until reinforcements arrived. The first thing you need is an M1A, of course. 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