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| Real American Heroes | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| MSG Gary Gordon | SFC Randy Shughart | ||||||||||||||||||||
| In October 1993, the US Army and Marines maintained a presence in Somalia, East Africa, as warlords plundered the resources sent to the starving natives by the United States and other UN nations. When the situation failed to show signs of improvement, the US Army Rangers along with Delta Force, the Army-staffed "black ops" unit (the government doesn't even acknowledge its existence), were sent in to Mogadishu to apprehend the warlords and restore order in the city. Things went horribly awry when one-by-one, the Blackhawk helicopters carrying the Rangers were shot down. The soldiers suddenly found themselves hopelessly outnumbered, as it seemed the entire city seemed to be taking up arms against them. CWO Mike Durant, the first helo pilot shot down, was the first target of an angry mob of Somalis. Delta snipers MSG Gary Gordon and SFC Randy Shughart volunteered to fast-rope to the ground and make their way to Durant's crash site. There, they would hold off the mob until Durant could be evacuated to safety and medical attention. They were denied permission by the commanders. They repeated their request three more times, and were finally given the green light. The pilot of the bird they were flying in recalled that the snipers never once seemed concerned for their own welfare. The snipers slid to the ground, and as they ran towards the crash site, they grinned and gave an enthusiastic thumbs up. Once at Durant's crash site, they formed a defensive 2-man perimeter around the pilot. They held off the mob using their rifles and sidearms. Shughart used up all of his ammunition and was killed. Gordon retrieved Shughart's rifle and gave it to Durant, saying "You're on your own. Good luck." He scrounged what ammo he could from the wreck, and went back to face the mob. He expended all ammunition in his rifle, and held them off with his pistol before he too was shot and killed. Durant was taken captive but was rescued 11 days later. MSG Gordon and SFC Shughart each posthumously received the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest award any soldier can receive. They were the first soldiers to receive the medal since the Vietnam War. These soldiers exhibited the core Army values. Duty, Honor, Loyalty, Courage, Selflessness. They are an example for soldiers across the world. We should all be so dedicated. |
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