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 […]
……………….The Setting: post October 3rd and 4th, 1993…………………………. Militarily speaking, the October 3rd and 4th battle was an American victory. TF 2-14, which included our own C CO, and the men of TF Ranger fought gallantly during the 17 to 18-hour firefight. It was the longest sustained firefight for America since the Vietnam war, a […]
…………Air Assault mission in a Mogadishu suburb at night, January, 1993…….names edited for excerpt………….. I proceeded to remove the trigger mechanism from the gun and frantically tried to get the tiny spring that was between me and my removing the trigger lock. Sgt. J-Dub began maneuvering the squad, bringing a fire team online in […]
“Where does the love of God go when the waves turn the minutes to hours…..?” – a quote from Gordon Lightfoot’s “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” I’m not sure for how long I had before the sun would come up, but my mind went from analyzing the shock and horror of the night’s events, […]
Behind The Gun: Poncho's Last Walk 