Gary Ivan Gordon
| Gary Ivan Gordon | |
|---|---|
Sergeant First Class Gary Gordon
|
|
| Nickname(s) | "Gordy" |
| Born |
August 30, 1960 Lincoln, Maine, U.S. |
| Died | October 3, 1993 (aged 33) Mogadishu, Somalia |
| Buried | Lincoln Cemetery, Penobscot County, Maine, U.S. |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1978–1993 |
| Rank | Master Sergeant |
| Unit | 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta |
| Battles/wars |
Operation Just Cause |
| Awards | Medal of Honor |
Operation Just Cause
Persian Gulf War
Operation Gothic Serpent
Gary Ivan Gordon (August 30, 1960 – October 3, 1993) was a master sergeant in the United States Army and a recipient of the Medal of Honor. At the time of his death, he was a non-commissioned officer in the United States Army's premier special operations unit, the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1SFOD-D), or "Delta Force".
Together with his comrade, Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart, Gordon was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for actions he performed 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. He joined the U.S. Army that same year on December 4, 1978 at age 18. Trained as a combat engineer, Gordon became a Special Forces Engineer with the 2nd Battalion of the 10th Special Forces Group. In December 1986, he volunteered and was selected to join the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1SFOD-D), or Delta Force. As a Delta operator, Gordon eventually advanced to Team Sergeant. Before deploying with his unit to Somalia he married his wife Carmen and together they had two children.
Gordon was deployed to Mogadishu, Somalia, with other Delta members in the summer of 1993 as part of Task Force Ranger. On October 3, 1993 Gordon was Sniper Team Leader during Operation Gothic Serpent, a joint-force assault mission to apprehend key advisers to Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. During the assault, Super Six One, one of the Army's Black Hawk helicopters providing insertion and air support to the assault team, was shot down and crashed in the city. A Combat Search and Rescue team was dispatched to the first crash site to secure it and a short time later a second Black Hawk, Super Six Four, was shot down as well. Ranger forces on the ground were not able to assist the downed helicopter crew of the second crash site as they were already engaged in heavy combat with Aidid's militia and making their way to the first crash site.
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