Gary Ivan Gordon ( Eng. Gary Ivan Gordon ; August 30, 1960 , Lincoln, Maine , USA - October 3, 1993 , Mogadishu , Somalia ) - a soldier of the American special forces unit “Delta” who died in the battle of Mogadishu during the UN peacekeeping operation “Continuation Hope " in Somalia. He was posthumously awarded the highest US military award - the Medal of Honor .
| Gary Ivan Gordon | ||||||||||||
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| Gary Ivan Gordon | ||||||||||||
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| Date of Birth | August 30, 1960 | |||||||||||
| Place of Birth | Lincoln, Maine | |||||||||||
| Date of death | October 3, 1993 (33 years) | |||||||||||
| Place of death | Mogadishu , Somalia | |||||||||||
| Affiliation |  USA | |||||||||||
| Type of army | ground troops | |||||||||||
| Years of service | 1978 - 1993 | |||||||||||
| Rank |  Master sergeant | |||||||||||
| Part | 1st Special Operations Unit "Delta" | |||||||||||
| Battles / Wars | US invasion of Panama The Battle of Mogadishu (1993) | |||||||||||
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Gary Gordon was born on August 30, 1960 . From 1981, he served in the US Army , including the 2nd Battalion of the 10th Special Task Group, from which he was transferred to the 1st Operations Division of the elite special forces group “Delta”.
In August 1993, Master Sergeant Gordon, together with his comrades, was sent to Mogadishu ( Somalia ), with the task of apprehending the leader of one of the local groups, Mohammed Aidid . On October 3, he took part in the next raid, leading a group of three snipers . The group was on board the helicopter, covering ground units from the air. During the raid, American forces were unexpectedly attacked by militants who had overwhelming numerical superiority. After the second MH-60 helicopter was shot down, the situation was completely out of control, since the commander of the operation had no reserves to ensure the safety of the crew of another helicopter. Gordon asked the command to allow the landing of him and one of his subordinate snipers, Randy Schugart, near the wreckage of the second helicopter. His request was rejected several times, but was finally approved. Upon arrival, the snipers dragged the surviving pilot from the cockpit, and then organized a perimeter defense , together protecting him from hundreds of armed militants. It is officially believed that Shugart died first, but Mark Bowden in his book The Fall of the Black Hawk puts forward the assumption that Gordon died first. The helicopter pilot surrendered.
In May 1994, Gary Gordon and Randy Shugart were posthumously awarded the Medals of Honor. These were the first awards of this award since the Vietnam War (since 1972 ).
In honor of Gordon named US Navy transport ship.
In the film The Black Hawk Down, the role of Gordon was played by Danish actor Nikolai Koster-Waldau .