‘Black Hawk Down’ Veterans Remembered 20 Years Later, Never-Before-Seen Footage

The battle immortalized by the 2001 movie Black Hawk Down was remembered 20 years after it took place.

The failed mission to capture wanted Somali warlords took place between October 3 and 4, 1993 and resulted in 18 Americans lives lost, in what some call the first battle with Al-Qaeda.

Remembrance ceremonies were held in several parts of the country from were some of the fallen came from.

Two Black Hawk helicopters had come into Mogadishu, Somalia in an attempt to capture Mohamed Farrah Aidid, when one of them was shot down by a rocket fired by locals, as the mission appeared to have been successfully completed.

The pilot of the unharmed chopper defied orders to return to base and after given the all clear to proceed with the rescue of the members who were on board turned around to help those who had crashed.

As the mission was only expected be be a quick extraction, the Black Hawk Down troops only had M-14 and sidearms to fend off the mob that surrounded the fallen chopper.

Staff Sgt. Randall Shughart was one of the Special Operations support troops providing back-up for the lead helicopter and saw the other chopper go down.

When Shughart’s ammunition ran out, he fought the rebels hand to hand and was able to pass a rifle to another soldier who was unarmed, but survived.

Sadly, Shughart didn’t, he was shot in the back. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on that day.

The “Black Hawk Down” book was penned by then Inquirer reporter Mark Bowden and chronicles the events, it also served as inspiration for the Ridley Scott movie.

Army Ranger Casey Joyce was also among the dead that day. His wife, DeAnna Joyce-Beck, says she knew something was wrong while watching reports of the fight on television. The next morning, the dreaded knock came to her door.

One of the men attending the ceremony in Plano, Texas said he owes his life to Joyce, who pulled him to safety after his chopper came down. He was at the ceremony to hug Joyce’s wife.

New footage from the fight has been uncovered and will be broadcast by CBS’ 60 Minutes, who was able to obtain a surveillance video of the gun fight which has never been seen before. Graphic images of US troops being dragged through the streets can be seen in the clip.

“Black Hawk Down”, as the battle was dubbed, following the successful movie depicting that day’s tragic events, is one of the deadliest battles in US history. The remembrance ceremony was scheduled to take place at Fort Brag, but due to the government shutdown it was canceled.

[Image via Scott Free Productions]