Happy Memorial Day

don't forget Somali veterans
Operation Restore Hope, Battle of Mogadishu,1993

Mogadishu, Somalia
	Start Time	Oct. 3, 1993
	End Time	Oct. 4, 1993

honor the fallen

U.S. military personnel killed in the fighting were Chief Warrant Offic er Donovan L. Briley, Staff Sgt. Daniel D. Bus ch, Cpl. James M. Cavaco, Staff Sgt. William D. Cleveland, Sgt. Thomas J. Field, Sgt. 1st Class Earl Fillmore, Chief War rant Officer Raymond Frank, Master Sgt. Gary I. Gordon, Sgt. James Z. "Casey" Joyce, Pvt. Richard W. "Alphabet" Kowaleski, Pvt. James Martin, Master Sgt. Timothy "Griz" Martin, Sgt. Dominick M. Pilla, Sgt. Lorenzo M. Ruiz, Sgt. 1st Class Randall D. Shughart, Cpl. James E. "Jamie" Smit h, and Chief Warrant Officer Clifton "Elvis" Wolcott. Sgt. Cornell Houston was mortally wounded and died Oct. 6 after being evacuated to Germany.Sgt. 1st Class Matthew L. Rierson, who took part in the battle, was killed two days later by a mortar.

Somalia . a mission to capture lieutenants of habar -gidir Hawiye Terrorist warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid, a team of U.S. Army Rangers and Delta Force came under heavy assault from local militia. Two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters went down in the fighting, and U.S. foces inflicted heavy casualties on Hawiye (habar-gidir)usc Jihadist fighters while suffering significant losses of their own.Al-Qaeda appear to have taken any direct role in the fighting, but several senior al-Qaeda fighters traveled to Somalia from Sudan to train militiamen there in techniques they employed against the Soviets during the Afghan war.In particular, they trained the militiamen in the use of unguided rocket-propelled grenades, or RPGs, as an anti-helicopter weapon.The tactic came as a surprise to American forces in Somalia, and RPGs were credited with downing the two Black Hawks.The U.S. government did not learn of al-Qaeda's role in the attack until 1996, presumably from Jamal Ahmed al-Fadl.
Attacker Deaths 500 Habar-gidir Hawiye ' Al-Qaeda mercenaries'