Heroism in Black Hawk Down
Somalia, an East African country of some 6 million, was decimated byfamine and civil war in the early 1990s. International aid groups tried tohelp, but factional fighting and bandits halted the flow of food. Somaliswere dying at an estimated rate of 1,000 per day as cargo ships wereshelled, trucks were hijacked, and relief workers were murdered. InDecember 1992, U.S. President George H. Bush announced that the UnitedStates would provide the backbone of a multinational military force tosecure supply lines and deliver food to the starving. U.S. troops were notgreeted warmly when they arrived in Mogadishu, the seaport capital ofSomalia. Gen. Mohamed Farah Aidid was especially opposed to theirpresence. Despite the volatile situation, military intervention appearedto be helping Somalia. The new U.S. presidential administration of BillClinton was determined to forge a lasting solution. Clinton's teamsupported the passage of U.N. resolution 814, expanding the mandate of U.N.involvement in the country. The violence escalated on June 5, 1993 whenSomalis killed 25 Pakistani soldiers in the U.N. force. U.N. forces led byU.S. helicopters continued to attack weapon depots. Aidid's militia struck
It shows only a small portion of the war wagedthere, and shows only a few of the over one hundred soldiers who werekilled and injured during the battle in Mogadishu. A Chicago film critic notes these characters did not exist:"Ranger Spec. Ridley Scott's 2001 film Black Hawk Down is an attempt to chroniclethese events in Somalia. Their mission: bring stabilityin the region by targeting the men responsible for these atrocities. TheClinton administration opted for a gradual troop withdrawal from Somalia. Specialist Mike Kurth summed up theRanger doctrine when he noted in a post-Somalia interview on the"Frontline" Web site, "If I get shot and I'm dead, I know my buddies aren'tgoing to leave until they get me with them. However, the truth is that the men fighting in Somaliawere still determined to fight for a cause they felt was just, and theysupported each other to the last man. I mean who wants to be a partof a unit that when you get shot, they're just gonna leave you out on thestreet to get mauled'" (Weiss). In addition, this devotion to duty showsthat no man died in vain in Somalia, for they were working for freedom, andthey were working to bring the country peace and stability. The UnitedStates sent crack military troops to Mogadishu, including Task Force Rangerand US Army special warfare forces Delta. First Class Jeff Sanderson" (Wilmington). First Class "Hoot" Gibson; and William Fichtner asthe more judicious Delta Sgt.
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Acceptance Essays
