Gary Ivan Gordon A soldier of the American special forces unit "Delta" Date of Birth: 30.08.1960 Country: USA

Biography of Gary Ivan Gordon

Gary Ivan Gordon was born on August 30, 1960. He served in the U.S. Army from 1981 and was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group before being transferred to the 1st Operational Detachment-Delta, an elite special operations unit also known as "Delta Force."

In August 1993, Master Sergeant Gordon was deployed to Mogadishu, Somalia as part of the United Nations peacekeeping operation known as "Operation Restore Hope." His mission was to capture the leader of a local faction, Mohamed Farrah Aidid. On October 3, he led a three-person sniper team aboard a helicopter, providing air cover for ground forces.

During the mission, the U.S. forces were unexpectedly attacked by heavily armed militants, who outnumbered them. After the second helicopter, an MH-60, was shot down, the situation spiraled out of control as the operation commander had no reserves left to ensure the safety of another helicopter crew. Gordon requested permission from command to land himself and one of his subordinate snipers, Randy Shughart, near the wreckage of the second helicopter. His request was initially denied but eventually approved.

Upon arrival, the snipers extracted the surviving pilot from the wreckage and then set up a defensive perimeter, defending him against hundreds of armed fighters. It is officially believed that Shughart died first, but Mark Bowden's book "Black Hawk Down" suggests that Gordon may have been the first to die. The pilot of the helicopter was captured and taken as a prisoner.

In May 1994, Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. These were the first Medal of Honor recipients since the Vietnam War (since 1972). In honor of Gordon, a U.S. Navy ship was named after him.

In the movie "Black Hawk Down," Gary Gordon was portrayed by Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.