The Battle of Mogadishu
The War on Terror has taught us, our soldiers are often in harm’s way. Danger lurks in places other than battlefields, such as humanitarian missions. U.S. forces had arrived in the war-torn Somalia in 1992 on a humanitarian mission to get food to starving people in a city where resources were controlled by various warlords. One of those warlords, had directed forces that conducted attacks on U.N. allies, killing dozens, and a bombing in August 1993 that killed four U.S. military police officers.
The Battle of Mogadishu, also known as Black Hawk Down, was part of Operation Gothic Serpent. On 3-OCT 1993, a special operations unit of U.S. Army Ranger and Delta Force troops headed for the center of Mogadishu, Somalia to capture three rebel leaders. The mission was thought to be relatively straightforward, but when two U.S. Blackhawk helicopters were shot down, the mission took a disastrous turn for the worse. By the time the sun set over Somalia the next day, a total of 18 Americans had been killed and another 73 wounded.
We honor and remember those killed in action.
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta
- MSG Gary Ivan Gordon, Medal of Honor, Purple Heart
- SFC Randy Shughart, Medal of Honor, Purple Heart
- SSG Daniel Darrell Busch, Silver Star, Purple Heart
- SFC Earl Robert Fillmore, Jr. Silver Star, Purple Heart
- MSG Timothy Lynn Martin, Silver Star, Purple Heart
- SFC Matthew Loren Rierson, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart
3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
- CPL James E. Smith, Bronze Star w/Valor Device & Oak leaf cluster,
Purple Heart
- SPC James M. Cavaco, Bronze Star with Valor Device, Purple Heart
- SGT James Casey Joyce, Bronze Star w/Valor Device, Purple Heart
- CPL Richard W. Kowalewski, Jr. Bronze Star w/Valor Device, Purple Heart
- SGT Dominick M. Pilla, Bronze Star w/Valor Device, Purple Heart
- SGT Lorenzo M. Ruiz, Bronze Star w/Valor Device, Purple Heart
Pilots and Crew of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment
- SSG William David Cleveland, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Air Medal w/Valor Device, Purple Heart
- SSG Thomas J. Field, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Air Medal w/Valor Device, Purple Heart
- CW4 Raymond Alex Frank, Silver Star, Air Medal w/Valor Device, Purple Heart
- CW3 Clifton P. Wolcott, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Air Medal w/ Valor Device, Purple Heart
- CW3 Donovan Lee Briley, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Air Medal w/ Valor Device, Purple Heart
Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division
- SGT Cornell Lemont Houston, Sr. Bronze Star with Valor Device, de Fleury Medal, Purple Heart
- PFC James Henry Martin, Jr. Bronze Star, Purple Heart