Randy Shughart

Randall David "Randy" Shughart (August 13, 1958 – October 3, 1993) was a United States Army soldier of the special operations unit, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1SFOD-D), also known as "Delta Force". Shughart posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Mogadishu in October 1993.

Early life and education
Shughart was born on August 13, 1958 in Lincoln, Nebraska into an U.S. Air Force family. After his father, Herbert Shughart, left the Air Force, the Shugharts moved to Newville, Pennsylvania to live and work on a dairy farm.

Career
Shughart joined the Army while attending Big Spring High School in Newville, entering upon graduation in 1976. After completing basic training, he successfully completed AIT (advanced individual training), Airborne School, and in 1978 was assigned to the 2nd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment), at Fort Lewis, Washington. Several months later he completed a pre-ranger course (currently known as SURT, Small Unit Ranger Tactics), was granted a slot to attend Ranger School, graduated, and earned the Ranger Tab. Shughart left active duty and went into the Army Reserve in June 1980. In December 1983, Shughart returned to active duty and the following year attended Special Forces training. Shughart was assigned to "Delta Force" and was transferred to Fort Bragg, North Carolina in June 1986.

Shughart was deployed to Mogadishu, Somalia in 1993 as part of Task Force Ranger. On October 3, 1993 during Operation Gothic Serpent, an assault mission to apprehend advisers to Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The Black Hawk helicopter with the call sign Super Six One, was shot down in the city. A Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) team came to secure it. Then, a second Black Hawk helicopter, call sign Super Six Four, was shot down.

Shughart, Gary Gordon and Sergeant First Class Brad Hallings had been providing sniper cover from the air. Gary Gordon wanted to be inserted to secure the crash site and hostile Somalis were converging on the area.

Mission commanders denied Gordon's request twice, saying that the situation was too dangerous for the Delta snipers to protect the crew from the ground. Command's position was that the snipers could be of more assistance by providing air cover. Gordon, however, repeated his request until he got permission. Sergeant First Class Brad Hallings stayed to provide cover.

Shughart and Gordon were inserted approximately 100m from the crash site, armed with their sniper rifles and sidearms, and made their way to the downed Blackhawk. Chief Warrant Officer Mike Durant was already defending the aircraft with an MP5 but was unable to move from his chair due to a crushed vertebra in his back and a compound fracture of his left femur. When they reached Super Six Four, they extracted Durant and the crew members from the crash and defended the aircraft. It is believed that Gordon was first to be shot by the mob, which had surrounded the crash site. Shughart retrieved Gordon's CAR-15 rifle and gave it to Durant to use. Shortly after, Shughart was killed, the site was overrun and Durant was taken hostage. According to Michael Durant's book In the Company of Heroes, the Somalis counted 25 of their militia dead after the firefight.

There was some confusion in the aftermath of the action as to who had been killed first. The official citation states that it was Shughart, but author Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, relates an account by Sergeant Paul Howe who heard Shughart call for help on the radio and that the weapon handed to Durant was not the distinctive M14 rifle used by Shughart. Furthermore, Howe said that Gordon would not have given his weapon to someone while he could still fight. Durant later admitted that he initially misidentified which man was killed first, but did not wish to change the official record. Shughart is buried in Westminster Cemetery, Carlisle, PA.

In popular culture

 * In the 2001 film Black Hawk Down, Shughart was portrayed by actor Johnny Strong.

Medal of Honor
On May 23, 1994, Shughart and Gordon were posthumously decorated with the Medals of Honor for protecting the crew of Super Six Four. They were the first Medal of Honor recipients since the Vietnam War.

Medal of Honor citation
Citation:

Legacy
Herbert Shughart, Randall Shughart's father, attended the Medal of Honor presentation ceremony at the White House, where he refused to shake hands with U.S. President Bill Clinton. He then proceeded to openly criticize the president, saying, "You are not fit to be president of the United States. The blame for my son's death rests with the White House and with you. You are not fit to command."

USNS Shughart
In 1997 the United States Navy named a roll-on/roll-off ship USNS Shughart (T-AKR-295) in a ceremony at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, San Diego, California. The ceremony was attended by a number of Naval officers and politicians including John W. Douglass, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition; Senator Bob Kerrey (D); as well as his Commanding officer at the time of his death, and others. The ship was the first "Large Medium Speed Roll On/Roll Off (LMSR) ship" to undergo conversion from a commercial container vessel to a sealift cargo ship.