A fierce battle involving Fort Drum soldiers in Somalia began on Oct. 3, 1993, with a radio transmission — “black hawk down.” The majority of Americans learned about how U.S. and United Nations forces came to the rescue of 99 ambushed U.S. Army Rangers trapped in the streets of Mogadishu through a Hollywood movie and book of the same name. But filmmaker and retired Air Force Col. Randall Larsen says the soldiers from Fort Drum, who fought valiantly in a two-day battle in and above the streets of Mogadishu, never got the credit they deserved.
He’s directed and produced a new documentary that depicts the role 341 10th Mountain Division soldiers — from the 2nd Battalion of the 14th Infantry — played in saving the Rangers during the intense fighting on Oct. 3 and Oct. 4, 1993. “It’s truly the untold story …” Col. Larsen said. “It was an incredible story.”By the time it ended on Oct. 4, 18 soldiers were killed and 80 wounded, but the U.S. forces fought their way into Mogadishu to get the members of the Army’s premier infantry unit out, despite heavy gunfire. Two Fort Drum soldiers died during the rescue mission, then the bloodiest firefight since the Vietnam War.
Yet the 10th Mountain Division’s involvement is largely overlooked, even with the popular 2001 Ridley Scott “Black Hawk Down” film and the 1999 book by journalist Mark Bowden. The new documentary, “Black Hawk Down: The Untold Story,” will make its debut during four showings at Fort Drum and Jefferson Community College on Oct. 4 and Oct. 5. The Oct. 4 showings at Fort Drum will come on the 25th anniversary of the battle’s second day in 1993.
The retired colonel doesn’t fault director Ridley Scott and his film for failing to tell the 2-14’s involvement in the battle. The film mentions Fort Drum but used composite characters to tell Hollywood’s version of the story. “I’m not saying anything bad about Ridley Scott,” the colonel said. “It was entertainment.” He also doesn’t have any problems with Mr. Bowden’s book, which delved into the Fort Drum connection more.
He does have issues with an episode of History Channel’s series “The Real Story of,” which supposedly told the true story behind the film. “But it never mentioned the 10th Mountain Division a single time,” Col. Larsen said. His documentary is devoted to the story of soldiers of the 2-14. All the U.S. forces who fought in the Mogadishu streets were heroes, the colonel insisted.
They jumped into armored vehicles, Humvees and troop-transported trucks and drove off into the dark Somalian night into what was considered a do-or-die mission to save the lives of the Rangers who were surrounded by more than 1,000 well-armed hostile forces. A year before, U.S. soldiers were deployed to Somalia to support a United Nations humanitarian mission to help with a devastating famine.
