Thomas E. Matthews (born 1949) is a retired

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 ...

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

who is best known for his commanding role in the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993. During the Battle of Mogadishu, Matthews and a

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 ...

officer, Lt. Col.

Gary Harrell Gary Lamar Harrell, affectionately known as "The Flea," (born January 23, 1972) is an American college football coach at the University of Wyoming and former professional gridiron football player. He previously was the assistant head coach and r ...

commanded from the helicopter Super 6-3 (piloted by Chief Warrant Officer 4 Stu Kaufman and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Mark Bergamo) circling over the battle. Matthews was the commander of 1st Battalion,

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 ...

, of which 5 members of his unit were killed when two Black Hawk Helicopters were shot down by the forces of 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 ...

. Matthews was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

by President

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, ...

for his actions in Somalia. Matthews was an adviser for the movie '' Black Hawk Down'' about the Battle of Mogadishu and was portrayed in the movie by

Glenn Morshower Glenn Morshower (born April 24, 1959) is an American actor and inspirational speaker. Known for his distinctive Texas accent, he is well known for playing military and law enforcement roles in both live-action and voice work, particularly Secret ...

. Matthews later retired from military service and works in the Office of the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and ...

at the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

. He currently resides in northern Virginia with his family.

References

1949 births Living people 20th-century United States Army personnel 21st-century United States Army personnel Battle of Mogadishu (1993) Drexel University alumni Military personnel from Philadelphia Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) United States Army colonels United States Army Special Operations Command {{US-mil-bio-stub