Gary Gordon
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Gary Ivan Gordon (August 30, 1960 – October 3, 1993) was a
master sergeant A master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries. Israel Defense Forces The (abbreviated "", master sergeant) is a non-commissioned officer () rank in the Israel Defense Force ...
in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
and a recipient of the
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
. At the time of his death in the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993, he was a
non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...
in the United States Army's premier special operations unit, the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1SFOD-D), or "Delta Force". Together with his comrade Sergeant First Class
Randy Shughart Randall David Shughart (August 13, 1958 – October 3, 1993) was a United States Army Delta Force operator who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Mogadishu (1993), Battle of Mogadishu, during Op ...
, Gordon was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle.


Early life and career

Gary Gordon was born August 30, 1960, in Lincoln,
Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
, and graduated from
Mattanawcook Academy Mattanawcook Academy is a public high school located in Lincoln, Maine, United States. History It was founded in 1847 as Lincoln High School. The name was changed to Mattanawcook Academy in 1850. On July 1, 1968, the towns of Chester, Burlin ...
in 1978. On December 4 of that year, at age 18, he joined the U.S. Army. Trained as a
combat engineer A combat engineer (also called pioneer or sapper) is a type of soldier who performs military engineering tasks in support of land forces combat operations. Combat engineers perform a variety of military engineering, Tunnel warfare, tunnel and l ...
, Gordon became a Special Forces Engineer with the 2nd Battalion of the
10th Special Forces Group The 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (10th SFG (A), or 10th Group) is an active duty United States Army Special Forces (SF) Group. 10th Group is designed to deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions: Unconventional warfare (United States), ...
. In December 1986, he volunteered and was selected to join the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1SFOD-D), or
Delta Force The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), also known as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) as Task Force Green, is a Special operation forces, special operat ...
. As a Delta operator, Gordon eventually advanced to Team Sergeant. Before deploying to Somalia, he married his wife Carmen and they had two children, Brittany and Ian.


Combat and death in Somalia

Gordon was posted to
Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...
, Somalia, with other Delta members in the summer of 1993 as part of
Task Force Ranger Task may refer to: * Task (computing), a unit of execution or homeworks * Task (language instruction) refers to a certain type of activity used in language instructional design * Task (project management), an activity that needs to be accomplis ...
. On October 3, 1993, Gordon was Sniper Team Leader during the
Battle of Mogadishu (1993) The Battle of Mogadishu (), also known as the Black Hawk Down Incident, was part of Operation Gothic Serpent. It was fought on 3–4 October 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia, between forces of the United States—supported by UNOSOM II—against S ...
, which began as a joint-force mission to apprehend key advisers to Somali warlord
Mohamed Farrah Aidid Mohamed Farrah Hasan Garad ( ; ; 15 December 1934 – 2 August 1996), popularly known as General Aidid or Aideed, was a Somali military officer, diplomat, and warlord. Educated in both Rome and Moscow, he began his career during the 1950s servi ...
. During the assault, Super Six One, one of the Army's Black Hawk helicopters providing insertion and air support to the assault team, was shot down and crashed in the city. A
combat search and rescue Combat search and rescue (CSAR) are search and rescue operations that are carried out during war that are within or near combat zones. A CSAR mission may be carried out by a task force of helicopters, ground-attack aircraft, aerial refueling ta ...
team was dispatched to the first crash site to secure it and a short time later a second Black Hawk, Super Six Four, was shot down as well. Ranger forces on the ground were not able to assist the downed helicopter crew of the second crash site as they were already engaged in heavy combat with Aidid's
militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
while making their way to the first crash site. Gordon and his
Delta Force The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), also known as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) as Task Force Green, is a Special operation forces, special operat ...
sniper teammates Sergeant First Class
Randy Shughart Randall David Shughart (August 13, 1958 – October 3, 1993) was a United States Army Delta Force operator who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Mogadishu (1993), Battle of Mogadishu, during Op ...
and Sergeant First Class Brad Halling, who were providing sniper cover from the air, wanted to be dropped at the second crash site in order to protect the four critically wounded crew, despite the fact that large numbers of armed, hostile combatants were converging on the area. Mission commanders denied Gordon's request, saying that the situation was already too dangerous for the three Delta snipers to effectively protect the Black Hawk crew from the ground. Command's position was that the snipers could be of more assistance by continuing to provide air cover. Gordon, however, concluded that there was no way the Black Hawk crew could survive on their own, and repeated his request twice until he finally received permission. Halling had assumed control of a minigun after a crew chief was injured and was not inserted with Shughart and Gordon. Once on the ground, Gordon and Shughart, armed with only their personal weapons and sidearms, fought their way to the downed Black Hawk. By this time more Somali forces were arriving, intent on either capturing or killing the American servicemen. When they reached Super Six Four, Gordon and Shughart extracted the pilot,
Chief Warrant Officer Chief warrant officer is a senior warrant officer rank, used in many countries. Canadian Armed Forces In the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), a chief warrant officer or CWO is the most senior non-commissioned member (NCM) rank for army and air fo ...
Michael Durant, co-pilot Ray Frank, and crew chiefs Bill Cleveland and Tommy Field from the aircraft, and established defensive positions around the crash site. Despite having inflicted heavy casualties on their attackers, the two Delta snipers were outnumbered and outgunned. Their ammunition depleted, Gordon and Shughart were killed by Somali gunfire. It is believed that Gordon was the first to be killed. Shughart retrieved Gordon's CAR-15 and gave it to Durant to use. Shortly afterwards, Shughart was killed and Durant was taken alive. Immediately after the battle, Mohammed's troops counted 25 of their own men dead with many more severely wounded. According to ''America and Iraq: Policy-making, Intervention and Regional Politics'', Gordon's "half-naked body was dragged horrifically through the streets of Mogadishu". Gordon's body was eventually recovered and is buried in Lincoln Cemetery, Penobscot County,
Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
.Archived
/ref> There was some confusion in the aftermath of the action as to the final moments of the firefight. The official citation states that Shughart had been killed first but
Mark Bowden Mark Bowden (; born 1951) is an American journalist and writer. He is a former national correspondent and longtime contributor to ''The Atlantic''. Bowden is best known for his book ''Black Hawk Down (book), Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern W ...
, author of '' Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War'', a book about the October 1993 battle, relates an account by Sergeant Paul R. Howe, another Delta commando fighting in the battle. Howe said that he heard Shughart call for help on the radio. Furthermore, Durant believed that the weapon handed to him was not the distinctive M14 used by Shughart but a CAR-15; Howe said that Gordon would never have given his own weapon to another soldier to use while he was still able to fight. In Durant's book, '' In the Company of Heroes'', he states that Gordon was on the left side of the Black Hawk, after both he and Shughart moved Durant to a safer location, and only heard Gordon say, "Damn, I'm hit." Durant acknowledged that he might have been wrong in his identification but was reluctant to push for the record to be changed since he was not sure. After the terrorist attack on the United States on
September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
, United States
Special Forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
units were inserted into
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
to assist the
Northern Alliance The Northern Alliance ( ''Da Šumāl E'tilāf'' or ''Ettehād Šumāl''), officially known as the United National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( ''Jabha-ye Muttahid-e barāye Afğānistān''), was a military alliance of groups that op ...
forces in overthrowing the
Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
and
al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...
terrorists. Following an intense mountain battle known as
Operation Anaconda Operation Anaconda or the Battle of Shah-i-Kot was a military operation that took place in early March 2002 as part of the War in Afghanistan. CIA paramilitary officers, working with their allies, attempted to destroy al-Qaeda and Taliban force ...
in March 2002, U.S. troops complex found a GPS unit and pouch labeled "G. Gordon". Intelligence analysts believed at first this was Gordon's GPS unit that he purchased on the private market and used in Somalia. The Gordon family was notified immediately of the find before the information was released to the public. It ultimately turned out that it was not Gordon's GPS but one belonging to a helicopter pilot lost in an earlier fight during Operation Anaconda.


Honors and awards

MSG Gordon's personal decorations include: The U.S. Navy officially named a roll-on/roll-off ship in a ceremony at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, July 4, 1996, at
Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the fifth-most populous city in Virginia and 140th-most populous city i ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. Congressman
John Murtha John Patrick Murtha Jr. ( ; June 17, 1932 – February 8, 2010) was an Politics of the United States, American politician from the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Murtha, a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, re ...
of
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, was the ceremony's principal speaker and Gordon's widow, Carmen Gordon, served as the ship's sponsor. ''Gordon'' was the second ship to undergo conversion from a commercial container vessel to a Large Medium Speed Roll On/Roll Off (LMSR) sealift ship and is operated by the U.S. Navy's
Military Sealift Command The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all U ...
,
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
Gordon has been honored elsewhere as well. Gordon Elementary School in Linden Oaks,
Harnett County, North Carolina Harnett County ( )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carolina Co ...
, which opened in January 2009, was named in his honor. The school is near
Fort Bragg Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023–2025) is a United States Army, U.S. Army Military base, military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 m ...
, where Gordon was stationed before being deployed to Somalia. In the Joint Readiness Training Center at
Fort Polk Fort Polk, formerly Fort Johnson, is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, about 10 miles (15 km) east of Leesville and 30 miles (50 km) north of DeRidder in Beauregard Parish. Named after New Yo ...
, LA, the main mock city is named Shughart-Gordon.


Medal of Honor

On May 23, 1994, both Gordon and Shughart posthumously received the Medal of Honor in recognition for the actions they took and the sacrifices they made to help protect the lives of the crew of Super Six Four. They were the only soldiers participating in Operation Gothic Serpent to receive the military's highest honor, and the first Medal of Honor recipients since the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. Their medals were presented to their widows Stephanie Shughart and Carmen Gordon by
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
in a ceremony at the White House.


Medal of Honor citation


Namesakes

Gary Ivan Gordon Elementary School in
Fort Bragg Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023–2025) is a United States Army, U.S. Army Military base, military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 m ...
.
Fort Gordon Fort Gordon, formerly known as Fort Eisenhower and Camp Gordon, is a United States Army installation established southwest of Augusta, Georgia in October 1941. It is the current home of the United States Army Signal Corps, United States Army Cy ...
, an Army installation in Augusta, GA, was renamed after Gary Gordon in 2025.


In culture

In the 2001 film '' Black Hawk Down'', Gordon was portrayed by Danish actor
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Nikolaj William Coster-Waldau (; born 27 July 1970) is a Danish actor. He graduated from the Danish National School of Performing Arts in Copenhagen in 1993, and had his breakthrough role in Denmark with the film ''Nightwatch (1994 film), Night ...
. Marko Kloos’ novel, '' Lines of Departure'' (2014), centers around a space fleet containing the military freighter "Gary I Gordon" and Gordon's heroic actions in Somalia are referenced.


See also

*
160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), abbreviated as 160th SOAR(A), is a special operations force of the United States Army that provides helicopter aviation support for special operations forces. Its missions have included ...
, the "Night Stalkers" * List of post-Vietnam Medal of Honor recipients *
Operation Restore Hope The Unified Task Force (UNITAF), also known as Operation Restore Hope, was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational military force deployed to Somalia from 5 December 1992 to 4 May 1993. It was established to replace United ...
*
U.S. Army Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, is a branch of the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC). The core missionset of Special Forces ...
* U.S. Special Operations Forces *
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), also known as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) as Task Force Green, is a special operations force of the United ...
* Statue of Gary Gordon


References

:


Further reading

* *


External links


Archived
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Gary 1960 births 1993 deaths People from Lincoln, Maine American military snipers United States Army soldiers Deaths by firearm in Somalia United States Army Rangers United States Army Medal of Honor recipients American military personnel killed in action American military personnel killed in the Battle of Mogadishu (1993) Members of the United States Army Special Forces Battle of Mogadishu (1993) Battle of Mogadishu (1993) recipients of the Medal of Honor Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Humanitarian Service Medal