Gary Gordon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gary Gordon
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| Nickname(s) | "Gordy" |
| Born | August 30, 1960 Lincoln, Maine, United States |
| Died | October 3, 1993 (aged 33) Mogadishu, Somalia |
| Buried |
West Broadway Cemetery, Lincoln, Maine
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| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/ |
United States Army |
| Years of service | 1978–1993 |
| Rank | Master Sergeant |
| Unit | 10th Special Forces Group 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta |
| Battles/wars | Operation Just Cause Persian Gulf War Operation Gothic Serpent |
| Awards | Medal of Honor Purple Heart Meritorious Service Medal Army Commendation Medal |
Gary Ivan Gordon (born August 30, 1960 – died October 3, 1993) was a brave soldier in the United States Army. He was given the Medal of Honor, which is the highest award for military bravery.
At the time of his death, Gary Gordon was a master sergeant, a high-ranking non-commissioned officer. He served in the Army's special operations unit called the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, or "Delta Force."
Along with his friend, Randy Shughart, Gary Gordon received the Medal of Honor after he died. This award was for their heroic actions during the Battle of Mogadishu in October 1993.
Contents
Early Life and Army Career
Gary Gordon was born on August 30, 1960, in Lincoln, Maine. He finished high school at Mattanawcook Academy in 1978.
On December 4, 1978, when he was 18, he joined the U.S. Army. He trained as a combat engineer, which means he learned to build and destroy things in battle.
Later, Gordon became a Special Forces Engineer with the 2nd Battalion of the 10th Special Forces Group. In December 1986, he volunteered and was chosen to join the Delta Force. As a Delta Force soldier, Gordon became a Team Sergeant, leading a group of highly trained soldiers.
Before going to Somalia, he married his wife, Carmen. They had two children, a daughter named Brittany and a son named Ian.
Heroic Actions in Somalia
In the summer of 1993, Gary Gordon was sent to Mogadishu, Somalia. He was there with other Delta Force members as part of a group called Task Force Ranger.
On October 3, 1993, Gordon was leading a sniper team during a mission. The goal was to capture important helpers of a Somali warlord named Mohamed Farrah Aidid.
During the mission, one of the Army's Black Hawk helicopters, called Super Six One, was shot down. It crashed in the city. A rescue team was sent to help at this first crash site.
Soon after, a second Black Hawk helicopter, Super Six Four, was also shot down. The Army Rangers on the ground could not reach the second crash site. They were already fighting many of Aidid's armed groups and moving toward the first crash site.
Gary Gordon and his Delta Force sniper teammates, Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart and Sergeant First Class Brad Halling, were watching from the air. They saw that the four crew members of the second crashed helicopter were badly hurt.
Gordon and Shughart asked to be dropped at the second crash site to protect the injured crew. This was very dangerous because many armed Somalis were gathering there. Mission commanders first said no, thinking it was too risky. They believed the snipers could help more from the air.
But Gordon knew the helicopter crew would not survive alone. He asked twice more until he finally got permission. Halling stayed in the air to operate a minigun because a crew member was injured.
Once on the ground, Gordon and Shughart, armed only with their personal weapons, fought their way to the downed Black Hawk. More Somalis were arriving, wanting to capture or kill the American soldiers.
When they reached Super Six Four, Gordon and Shughart pulled the pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Michael Durant, and three other crew members (Bill Cleveland, Ray Frank, and Tommy Field) out of the helicopter. They set up defenses around the crash site.
Even though they fought bravely and hurt many Somalis, the two Delta snipers were greatly outnumbered. They ran out of ammunition. Gordon and Shughart were both killed by Somali gunfire. It is thought that Gordon was killed first. Shughart then took Gordon's CAR-15 rifle and gave it to Durant to use. Soon after, Shughart was also killed, and Durant was captured alive.
After the battle, the Somalis reported 25 of their own men dead and many more wounded.
Gary Gordon's body was later found. He is buried in Lincoln Cemetery in Penobscot County, Maine.
There was some confusion about who died first. The official story says Shughart died first. However, Mark Bowden, who wrote the book Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, shared a different account. Sergeant Paul Howe, another Delta soldier, said he heard Shughart call for help on the radio. Also, the weapon given to Durant was not Shughart's special M14. Howe also said Gordon would never give his own weapon to another soldier if he could still fight.
In Durant's book, In the Company of Heroes, he says Gordon was on the left side of the Black Hawk after they moved Durant to a safer spot. Then Shughart came from the left side with the CAR-15.
After the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, U.S. Special Forces went to Afghanistan. They helped local forces fight the Taliban and al-Qaeda terrorists. In March 2002, after a battle called Operation Anaconda, U.S. troops found a GPS unit with "G. Gordon" on it. At first, they thought it belonged to Gary Gordon from Somalia. His family was told, but it turned out to be a GPS from a helicopter pilot lost in an earlier fight during Operation Anaconda.
Honors and Awards
Master Sergeant Gordon received many awards for his service and bravery, including:
- Medal of Honor
- Purple Heart
- Meritorious Service Medal
- Army Commendation Medal
- Joint Service Commendation Medal
- Army Achievement Medal
- Army Good Conduct Medal
- National Defense Service Medal
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
- Humanitarian Service Medal
- Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon
- Army Service Ribbon
- United Nations Medal
He also earned special badges:
- Master Parachutist Badge
- Military Freefall Parachutist Badge
- Expert Marksmanship badge
- Special Forces Tab
- Ranger Tab
- Combat Infantryman Badge
Things Named After Gary Gordon
The U.S. Navy named a large cargo ship, the USNS Gordon, in his honor. The ceremony was on July 4, 1996, in Newport News, Virginia. Carmen Gordon, Gary's widow, was the ship's sponsor. This ship helps the U.S. Navy move equipment around the world.
Many other things have been named after Gary Gordon. Gordon Elementary School in Linden Oaks, Harnett County, North Carolina, opened in January 2009. It is near Fort Bragg, where Gordon was stationed before he went to Somalia. Also, a mock city used for training soldiers, located in Louisiana, is named Shughart-Gordon.
Medal of Honor
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On May 23, 1994, both Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart were given the Medal of Honor after their deaths. This award recognized their brave actions and the sacrifices they made to protect Michael Durant and the crew of Super Six Four.
They were the only soldiers in Operation Gothic Serpent to receive this highest military honor. They were also the first Medal of Honor recipients since the Vietnam War. Their medals were given to their widows, Stephanie Shughart and Carmen Gordon, by President Bill Clinton at the White House.
In Culture
In the 2001 movie Black Hawk Down, Gary Gordon was played by the Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
The novel Lines of Departure (2014) by Marko Kloos features a space fleet that includes a military freighter named "Gary I Gordon." The book also mentions Gordon's heroic actions in Somalia.
See also
In Spanish: Gary Gordon para niños
