20th anniversary of the Battle of Mogadishu

Battle of Mogadishu October 3rd – 4th, 1993

Today is the 20th 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”

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]
History Military News

Leave a Comment