An expanded excerpt from the full chapter. Setting: the early morning hours of September 25th, 1993 in Mogadishu Somalia. A chapter that could easily be called “The Original Black Hawk Down”. Based on the firsthand accounts of 1-87 INF, 2-14 INF, 3-75 RGR and 5th Special Forces soldiers. Blood on the Altar The incident we’re […]
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 […]
“A story: A man fires a machine gun for about a year, and then goes to war. And afterward he turns the M60 in at the armory, but keeps a pocketful of chemlights. And no matter what else he might do with his hands, love a woman, build a house, change his son’s diaper; his […]
“A story: A man fires a machine gun for about a year, and then goes to war. And afterward he turns the M60 in at the armory, but keeps a pocketful of chemlights. And no matter what else he might do with his hands, love a woman, build a house, change his son’s diaper; his hands remember the chemlights and how they made Marvin fucking glow.”
……………….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 