The story of Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart is one of the most extraordinary acts of bravery and self-sacrifice in modern military history. Both were soldiers; U.S. Army Delta Force members who gave their lives trying to protect their fallen comrades in the face of overwhelming odds. It came in 1993, during the Battle of Mogadishu, famously depicted on the screen in the 2001 film, “Black Hawk Down.”
Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart Faced Chaos
American forces in Somalia were looking to capture the Somali warlord Mohamed Farah Aidid. On Oct. 3, 1993, the U.S. launched an operation aimed at capturing two of his top lieutenants during a meeting in the middle of Mogadishu. It was supposed to be a quick, relatively simple mission. Delta Force soldiers would assault the building from MH-6 Little Bird helicopters while U.S. Army Rangers fast-rope into the area from MH-60L Black Hawks and secure four points around the target building. A convoy of 12 vehicles would then swoop up the assault teams and the prisoners to return to the American base.
Some 40 minutes into the operation, a Black Hawk designated Super 61 was hit by an RPG and crashed 300 yards away from the mission’s target building. The pilots were killed, and two crew members were injured in the crash. Little Bird helicopters covered the wreck until a combat search and rescue team could arrive on site. The Black Hawk carrying the CSAR team was also hit by an RPG and had to return to base, but the team recovered the wounded crewmembers and took them to a nearby building. Then, another Black Hawk was hit.
Gordon and Shughart Volunteered to Protect the Crew
This time, the helicopter was Super 64, piloted by Warrant Officer 4 Mike Durant. As it plummeted into a residential neighborhood, the Somalis cheered and began to mass toward the wreckage. All four crew members survived the initial impact. U.S. forces tried to launch a rescue mission, but the Somalis set multiple ambushes for any possible response the American base might try to make. The resistance and nonstop ambushes made it nearly impossible to get to the Super 6-4 crash site.
Master Sgt. Gary Gordon was the sniper team leader providing sniper cover from the air with Sgt. 1st Class Randy Shughart and Sgt. 1st Class Brad Halling. All three repeatedly requested to be inserted into the Super 64 crash site to protect the injured crew members from the coming swarm of enemy soldiers.
From their perch in the air, they could see the mass of armed Somalis converging on the site. Initially, their requests were denied. Their command believed the situation on the ground was too dangerous, and that the snipers were better equipped to help from the air. Gordon was persistent, however, and kept requesting until command gave the go-ahead. Halling did not insert, instead he took over a minigun to defend the Black Hawk because the gunner was wounded.
Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart Died Shielding Comrades
Mark Bowden, author of “Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War,” wrote that the two operators were inserted some 100 meters from the site armed with their sniper rifles and sidearms. They removed the crew from the wreckage, established a defensive position, and fought until they began to run out of ammunition. There were just too many enemies swarming the crash site. Durant never recalled which one was killed first, but he does believe he heard Gordon say he was hit, and Shughart would hand Durant Gordon’s CAR-15 to use. Shughart died shortly after, and Durant was captured, bloodied but alive.
Durant was held for 11 days before being released to the International Red Cross. The bodies of Gordon and Shughart were stripped and dragged through the streets of the city. They were both eventually recovered. On May 23, 1994, both Gordon and Shughart received a posthumous Medal of Honor for their sacrifice and gallantry in the face of the enemy.
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