Kent DeLong - Mogadishu!: Heroism and Tragedy

Cover

Page i

MOGADISHU!

Page ii

Rangers fast-roping from a Blackhawk helicopter.

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Heroism and Tragedy

Kent DeLong and Steven Tuckey

Foreword by Ross Perot

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
DeLong, Kent.
Mogadishu!: heroism and tragedy/Kent DeLong and Steven Tuckey;
foreword by Ross Perot.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-275-94925-7
1. Operation Restore Hope, 19921993. 2. SomaliaHistory1991
I. Tuckey, Steven. II. Title.
DT407.D45 1994
967.7305dc20 9431744

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.

Copyright 1994 by Kent DeLong and Steven Tuckey

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any
process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 9431744

ISBN: 0-275-94925-7

First published in 1994
Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881

An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.

Printed in the United States of America

The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.481984).

10 9 8

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This book is dedicated to the following special people:

Jeanne, Lindsay, Camden, and Everett DeLong
Dorothy Tuckey and to the memory of Thomas Tuckey
To the memory of Winona Millett
To the families who gave us their sons, their brothers, and their
fathers:
The Cavaco Family
The Smith Family
The Kowalewski Family
The Briley Family
The Joyce Family
The Houston Family
The Wolcott Family
The Field Family
The Gordon Family
The Cleveland Family
The Frank Family
The Shughart Family
The Busch Family
The Pilla Family
The Ruiz Family
The Fillmore Family
The James Martin Family
The Timothy Martin Family

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Photo essay follows page 44.

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By Ross Perot

Every American should read this book in order to gain a clear insight about military combat and war.

It is important for every American to understand that

Peace-keeping missions can suddenly turn into all-out war, even if only for a short period of time.

Our troops, our sons and daughters, can get killed and wounded, just as if they were involved in a large-scale war.

Death is just as final in Mogadishu as it was in World War II.

The sacrifices demanded of families are just as intense. Children must grow up without a parent. The surviving parent must bear the pain of losing a loved one, and assume the responsibility of rearing the children alone.

Finally,

These missions demand the same level of patriotism and heroism as Americans showed on the beaches of Normandy and Iwo Jima, even though we tend to think of them as tiny wars.

Read about these magnificent men who risked and gave their lives in broad daylight to save their comrades. They are classic examples that, Greater love hath no man than he lay down his life for a friend.

Television reporting of war has turned it into a spectator event that can be confused with athletic contests. Peace-keeping missions, when they become war, exact a terrible price.

When our nation sends our sons and daughters into combat, we must have a clearly defined mission. The mission must be so important that you or I would send our own sons and daughters to fight and die for it.

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Our military troops love this country and are willing to fight and die for it. We have an enormous obligation not to take advantage of their idealism and patriotism.

The relevant question to ask before sending these men and women into combat is, would you and I be willing to die for this cause?

Read this book carefully. Never forget its contents as you watch the TV docu-dramas of smart bombs going down air shafts, where war is presented in a sterile, sanitized environment. Remember, war is fighting and dying.

This book honors our heroes.

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October 3, 1993