On today, his birthday, Behind the Gun is going to tell you about Gerard Gutierrez as we celebrate his service, and also his birthday. Gutierrez, or “Gute” (like GOOT), fought in Mogadishu on Oct.3rd and 4th as a SAW gunner with 3rd Platoon C CO. 1-87 IN, and was wounded during the Battle of Mogadishu. Gute […]
In the Lower Shabelle Hoose region of Somalia, outside a small village somewhere between the cities of Qoryoley and Barawa, on February 16 of 1993, I would experience what I now refer to as the ‘The Gift’. As I describe the events of that evening, I am sure you might misconstrue the meaning of this […]
**************setting, a full chapter and some comic relief******************** “I never knew whether I was drawn to eccentric people or if they were drawn to me.” ~ Dean Koontz, author. Like most of this book, the story of Jesus in Somalia isn’t widely known. A secret weapon of the US Army, Jesus was in fact a […]
When it comes to the topic of race and equality, the military by large is light years ahead of the rest of society. Though it wasn’t always that way until equal rights became the law of the land, just as same sex marriage became the law of the land recently. The military doesn’t pick and […]
Setting: Southern Somali Port, March of 1993. As we rode through the gate at the port to do our pre-patrol inspections, I noticed something pretty disturbing right at the entrance; a human body, wrapped in a rug just sitting there with a pair of feet hanging out of one end and a head protruding from […]
Behind The Gun: Poncho's Last Walk 