On October 3, 1993 Delta Force operators Msgt. Gary Gordon and SFC Randy Shughart gave up their lives in order to save their fellow brothers against incredible odds.
After 2 Blackhawks were shot down over the city of Mogadishu, both snipers repeatedly requested to be inserted and help secure one of the crash sites from an overwhelming enemy force.
After being denied twice by command, their request was granted knowing full well the dangers which lay ahead.
They were both inserted approx 100 meters from the site, and armed with only their personal weapons, fought their way to the wounded crew.
CWO Mike Durant was already defending the aircraft with an MP-5 but was unable to move from his chair due to a crushed vertebra in his back and a compound fracture of his left femur.
Shughart and Gordon extracted Durant and the crew members from the crash and defended the aircraft.
Under heavy fire, completely surrounded and outmanned, the Delta snipers killed scores of enemy fighters until their ammunition was completely depleted. Gordon held his position until he was killed by small arms fire. Shughart, still alive, recovered a rifle with the last five rounds of ammunition and gave it to the pilot with the words, "good luck." Then, armed only with his pistol, Shughart continued to fight until he too, was killed.
Their actions saved the life of Durant, despite him being eventually captured.
Both operators would posthumously receive the Medal of Honor, the first to receive it since the Vietnam war. #sacrifice #brotherhood #delta #stayzero #zerofoxtrot