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BLACK HAWKS DOWN, OCTOBER 3, 1993

During the raid, MH-60 Black Hawk Super 61 was struck by an RPG and crashed, killing pilots Cliff Wolcott and Donovan Briley. Minutes later, Super 64, piloted by Michael Durant, was also hit and crashed.

With no ground force able to immediately reach Super 64, Delta Force snipers MSG Gary Gordon and SFC Randy Shughart repeatedly volunteered to be inserted. Permission was granted on their third request. They reached the wreckage, pulled the badly injured Durant to cover and defended the crash site as Somali fighters closed in.

Both Gordon and Shughart were eventually killed, along with Durant's three crewmen: Bill Cleveland, Ray Frank and Tommy Field. Durant was beaten and captured alive by Aidid's militia.

After the crash site was overrun, bodies of fallen Americans were stripped and dragged through the streets of Mogadishu.

#Somalia #America #BlackHawkDown

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THE MOGADISHU MILE, OCTOBER 4, 1993

Through the night, Rangers and Delta operators remained surrounded near the first crash site. A rescue force from the U.S. 10th Mountain Division, supported by Malaysian armored personnel carriers and Pakistani tanks, eventually broke through.

During the withdrawal, there was not enough room in the armored vehicles for everyone. Some Americans moved on foot alongside the convoy toward safety, a withdrawal remembered as the “Mogadishu Mile.”

The raid successfully captured Aidid's senior lieutenants, but the battle cost 18 U.S. soldiers their lives and wounded more than 70. One Malaysian soldier was also killed. Somali casualty estimates vary widely, with hundreds believed killed.

Michael Durant remained a prisoner for 11 days. Following negotiations, he was released by his captors into the custody of the International Committee of the Red Cross on October 14, 1993.

Operation Gothic Serpent ended shortly afterward.

#Somalia #America #BlackHawkDown