Randy Shughart

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Randy Shughart
August 13, 1958 - October 3, 1993

U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Randall Shughart, Medal of Honor for actions in Operation Gothic Serpent (October 3, 1993).
Place of birth Newville, Pennsylvania
Place of death Mogadishu, Somalia
Allegiance United States Army
Years of service N/A
Rank Sergeant First Class
Unit 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta
Battles/wars Battle of Mogadishu
Awards Medal of Honor
Purple Heart

Sgt. First Class Randall 'Randy' David Shughart (August 13, 1958 – October 3, 1993) is a posthumous recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor. At the time of his death, he was a non-commissioned officer in the United States Army's special operations unit, the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1SFOD-D), or "Delta Force." He earned the Medal of Honor for actions he performed during the Battle of Mogadishu in October 1993.

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[edit] Biography

Randall Shughart was born in Lincoln, Nebraska into an Air Force family, his father being stationed at nearby Lincoln Air Force Base at the time. The Shughart family moved to Newville, Pennsylvania after the father left the service, living on and tending a dairy farm there. Shughart joined the Army while still attending Big Spring High School in Newville, entering the service upon graduation. After basic training, he successfully completed the rigorous Ranger Indoctrination Program, and was assigned to the 2nd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, at Ft. Lewis, Washington. He went on to earn the Ranger tab. Shughart later qualified for Special Forces and was transferred to Ft. Bragg, North Carolina.

[edit] Combat and death in Somalia

Shughart was deployed to Mogadishu, Somalia with other Delta members in the summer of 1993 as part of Task Force Ranger. On October 3, 1993, Shughart, part of a two-man sniper team headed by Master Sgt. Gary Gordon participated in Operation Gothic Serpent, a joint-force assault mission to apprehend key advisers to Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid.

During the assault, Super Six One, one of the Army's Blackhawk helicopters providing insertion and air support to the assault team, was shot down and had crashed in the city. The CSAR (Combat Search And Rescue) team was dispatched to the first crash site to secure it. Shortly after, 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 and were making their way to the first crash site.

Shughart and Gordon, 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 Somalis were converging on the area.

As the sniper team leader, Gordon made a formal request to be inserted. Mission commanders denied the request, saying that the situation was already too dangerous for the two Delta snipers to effectively protect the Blackhawk crew from the ground. Command's position was that the snipers could be of more assistance by continuing to cover the site from the air. Gordon, however, concluded that there was no possibility the Blackhawk crew could survive on their own, and kept repeating his request until he finally received permission.

Once on the ground, the Delta snipers, armed with only their personal weapons and sidearms, had to fight their way to the location of the downed Blackhawk. By this time there were more Somalis arriving, intent on either capturing or killing the American servicemen. When they reached Super Six Four, Gordon and Shughart extracted the pilot, CWO Mike Durant and the other crew members from the aircraft, and established defensive positions around the crash site.

Despite having inflicted heavy casualties against the Somalis, Gordon and Shughart were too outnumbered and outgunned, and as their ammunition was nearly depleted, unable to withstand the onslaught. It is believed that Gordon was first to be fatally wounded, after which Shughart retreived Gordon's CAR-15 assault rifle and gave it to Durant to use while he continued to protect Durant and the downed crew. Shortly after Shughart returned to the wreckage he was killed by Somali gunfire. The mob then overran the crash site, found Durant and captured him.[1]

There was some confusion in the aftermath of the action as who had been killed first. The official citation states that it was Shughart, but Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, the best-selling book about the October 1993 events, relates an account by Sergeant Paul Howe, another Delta operator participating in the battle. Howe said that he heard Shughart call for help on the radio and that the weapon handed to Durant was not the distinctive M14 used by Shughart. It is likely that Durant would have commented had it been an M14, as that weapon is very different from the CAR-15 Gordon had. Furthermore, Howe said that Gordon would never have given his own weapon to another soldier to use while he was still able to fight.[2]

In Black Hawk Down, the 2001 movie directed by Ridley Scott and based on Bowden's book, Shughart was portrayed by actor Johnny Strong.

U.S. Navy Large, Medium-speed, Roll-on/Roll-off Ship Shughart (T-AKR 295)
U.S. Navy Large, Medium-speed, Roll-on/Roll-off Ship Shughart (T-AKR 295)

[edit] Medal of Honor citation

On May 23, 1994, Shughart and Gordon were posthumously decorated with the Medals of Honor in recognition for the actions they took and the sacrifices they made to help protect the life of Durant and the crew of Super Six Four. They were the only soldiers participating in Operation Gothic Serpent to receive the U.S. military's highest honor, and the first Medal of Honor recipients since the Vietnam War.[3]

Rank and organization: Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army. Place and date: 3 October 1993, Mogadishu, Somalia. Entered service at: ----- Born: Newville, Pennsylvania. Citation: Sergeant First Class Shughart, United States Army, distinguished himself by actions above and beyond the call of duty on 3 October 1993, while serving as a Sniper Team Member, United States Army Special Operations Command with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu, Somalia. Sergeant First Class Shughart provided precision sniper fires from the lead helicopter during an assault on a building and at two helicopter crash sites, while subjected to intense automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fires. While providing critical suppressive fires at the second crash site, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader learned that ground forces were not immediately available to secure the site. Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader unhesitatingly volunteered to be inserted to protect the four critically wounded personnel, despite being well aware of the growing number of enemy personnel closing in on the site. After their third request to be inserted, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader received permission to perform this volunteer mission. When debris and enemy ground fires at the site caused them to abort the first attempt, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader were inserted one hundred meters south of the crash site. Equipped with only his sniper rifle and a pistol, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader, while under intense small arms fire from the enemy, fought their way through a dense maze of shanties and shacks to reach the critically injured crew members. Sergeant First Class Shughart pulled the pilot and the other crew members from the aircraft, establishing a perimeter which placed him and his fellow sniper in the most vulnerable position. Sergeant First Class Shughart used his long range rifle and side arm to kill an undetermined number of attackers while traveling the perimeter, protecting the downed crew. Sergeant First Class Shughart continued his protective fire until he depleted his ammunition and was fatally wounded. His actions saved the pilot's life. Sergeant First Class Shughart's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest standards of military service and reflect great credit upon him, his unit and the United States Army.

[edit] Awards and decorations

Medal of Honor (posthumous)
Purple Heart Medal

[edit] USNS Shughart

The U.S. Navy officially named a roll-on/roll-off ship USNS Shughart in a ceremony at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, San Diego, California. [4]

Senator Bob Kerrey of Nebraska was the ceremony's principal speaker. Serving as the ship's sponsor was Mrs. Stephanie Shughart, widow of the ship's namesake.

Some of the distinguished guests that attended the ceremony included:

Shughart was the first "Large Medium Speed Roll On/Roll Off (LMSR) ship" to undergo conversion from commercial container vessel to sealift cargo ship. The ship is operated by the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command, Washington, D.C.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Official military sites

[edit] Memorials

[edit] Miscellaneous

[edit] References

  1. ^ Gary I. Gordon & Randall D. Shughart Full Medal of Honor Citation. Congressional Medal of Honor Society.
  2. ^ Bowden, Mark (1999). Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War. Atlantic Monthly Press. 
  3. ^ Medal of Honor Recipients: Somalia U.S. Army Center of Military History
  4. ^ Cargo Ship Shughart (T-AKR 295) Named After Medal of Honor Recipient (Text file). Navy Office of Information. Retrieved on March 12, 2007.

[edit] Further reading

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