16 Facts About Gary Gordon

Gary Ivan Gordon was a master sergeant in the United States Army and a recipient of the Medal of Honor.

Together with his comrade, Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart, Gordon was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Mogadishu in October 1993.

Gary Gordon was born August 30,1960, in Lincoln, Maine, and graduated from Mattanawcook Academy in 1978.

Gary Gordon was posted to Mogadishu, Somalia, with other Delta members in the summer of 1993 as part of Task Force Ranger.

On October 3,1993, Gary Gordon was Sniper Team Leader during the Battle of Mogadishu, which began as a joint-force mission to apprehend key advisers to Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid.

Mission commanders denied Gary Gordon's request, saying that the situation was already too dangerous for the three Delta snipers to effectively protect the Black Hawk crew from the ground.

Gary Gordon concluded that there was no way the Black Hawk crew could survive on their own, and repeated his request twice until he finally received permission.

Gary Gordon's body was eventually recovered and is buried in Lincoln Cemetery, Penobscot County, Maine.

The Gary Gordon family was notified immediately of the find before the information was released to the public.

The school is near Fort Bragg, where Gary Gordon was stationed before being deployed to Somalia.

When Master Sergeant Gary Gordon learned that ground forces were not immediately available to secure the second crash site, he and another sniper unhesitatingly volunteered to be inserted to protect the four critically wounded personnel, despite being well aware of the growing number of enemy personnel closing in on the site.

When debris and enemy ground fires at the site caused them to abort the first attempt, Master Sergeant Gary Gordon was inserted one hundred meters south of the crash site.

Master Sergeant Gary Gordon immediately pulled the pilot and the other crew members from the aircraft, establishing a perimeter which placed him and his fellow sniper in the most vulnerable position.

Master Sergeant Gary Gordon used his long range rifle and side arm to kill an undetermined number of attackers until he depleted his ammunition.

Master Sergeant Gary Gordon then went back to the wreckage, recovering some of the crew's weapons and ammunition.

Master Sergeant Gary Gordon continued to travel the perimeter, protecting the downed crew.