For those of us who remember it as if it were yesterday, it’s hard to believe that Operation Gothic Serpent, more specifically, the Battle of Mogadishu, took place 30 years ago, over 3-4 OCT 1993.

During that fight, an MH-60L Black Hawk helicopter with the Army’s elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) was brought down after being hit in the tail rotor by an RPG-7. It was the second Black Hawk downed that fateful day, and all aboard, except pilot Chief Warrant Officer Three Michael Durant, were killed. Their call sign was Super Six Four, and their story lives forever in the annals of American military history.

 

The crew of Super Six Four in Somalia, 1993. Left to right: Winn Mahuron (mechanic), Tommy Field, Bill Cleveland, Ray Frank, Mike Durant. Image courtesy of Quora.com

Lone Survivor

The lone survivor of the Super Six Four crew, Chief Durant, is, of course, the best person to tell her tale. Most of the following information was obtained during his interview for The Year in Special Operations: 2008 Edition.