Remembering Six Lost from 3/1 AVN

On December 17, 2013, a UH-60M Blackhawk helicopter was lost in Afghanistan. Six men were lost in the crash and the battle that ensued. Five of those six men were assigned to Company B, 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas. They were:

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Randy L. Billings, 34

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Joshua B. Silverman, 35

Sgt. 1st Class Omar W. Forde, 28

Sgt. Peter C. Bohler, 29

Spc. Terry K.D. Gordon, 22 

Also killed was:

Staff Sgt. Jesse L. Williams, 30

Williams was with 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, Regimental Support Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.
The Blackhawk was in a flight of two UH-60Ms. While hovering above a ridge line, on the Red Hill near Ibrahim Khel village in Shah Joi District, Zabul Province at 1455 hrs preparing to destroy a repeater tower, an IED detonated. The blast impacted the left side of the Blackhawk and disabled the tail rotor causing an uncontrollable spin to the right. The aircraft crashed on a downward slope approximately 400m from the blast site. 

The seven man crew came under heavy enemy attack and by the time the rescue team deployed, six of them had lost their lives.

We remember those lost that day and vow to never let them be forgotten. The deaths touched family, friends, fellow service members, and communities very deeply. We are honored to have had them serve in the capacities that they served for the time that they did. The impact that they had can never be truly quantified. They gave their all, and in the end paid the ultimate sacrifice. Let us also remember the seventh man and all of those who participated in the rescue effort. None of them should be overlooked for the role they played and for what they endured. 

We salute you:

Randy Billings

Chris Bohler

Omar Forde

Terry Gordon

Joshua Silverman

Jesse Williams

In Honor of the 4 MP's

I try not to get political here, as that is not what this site is about. In regards to this event, it took every bit of restraint I could muster. I will only say this, whenever the UN is involved and a spirit of timidity and political correctness are added, disaster like this increases in probability exponentially.

In 1991, civil war in Somalia produces horrific conditions aided by some really bad people. Famine followed and conditions for the population there were deplorable. Ceasefire followed early the next year, and as part of that agreement, UN humanitarian monitoring was allowed into the country. The security counsel allowed for 50 unarmed monitors in April of 1992. With torturous speed, releif efforts began in August of that year. Relief convoys were looted, hijacked and workers were assaulted. Almost no food made it to the starving population.

The UN asked for help from the US. With only weeks left in office, President Bush  responded with Operation Restore Hope. 25,000 troops started to arrive in December. The plan was for the troops to restore stability and let the UN take over before Clinton took office in January. Further UN resolutions and plans were hatched, yet by June, there were still 1200 US combat troops with 3000 further US support troops still there. Through June and July, 24 Pakistani soldiers are massacred in an ambush and 4 journalists are beaten to death by a mob of Somalis. Escalations ensued and the peacekeepers were basically at war. Special Forces were requested in June, but did not arrive until August 26th.

Almost 3 weeks earlier, during a routine patrol, two vehicles carrying 8 US soldiers came under attack. The first vehicle was hit with a remotely detonated device. The soldiers in the second vehicle came under fire, as did Egyptian and Pakistani soldiers who shortly thereafter arrived. More US troops soon followed and were also met with fire. The organized ambush killed all four US Military Police in the lead vehicle, 3 instantly and the fourth a short time later.

Those 4 soldiers were:

Sgt. Christopher Hilgert, 27, of Bloomington, Indiana
Spc. Mark Gutting, 25, of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Spc. Keith Pearson, 25, of Tavaras, Florida

They were members of the 997th Military Police Company

Sgt. Ronald Richerson, 24, of Portage, Indiana

He was with the 300th Military Police Company

These four guys died doing the most honorable thing they could be doing, trying to help people who desperately needed it. They were thousands of miles from their homes and families, in a land where most people looked at them with disdain. Even so, they were doing what they were called to do.

8 others had died in Somalia since December, but I am unable to find any information on them. This event would lead to the Battle of Mogadishu in early October. That would see 16 killed, scores wounded and Micheal Durant captured. This event would come to be known as Blackhawk Down.

All of these men need and deserved to be remembered and honored. We will see to it that they are never forgotten for all that they gave.

Hilgert, Gutting, Pearson and Richerson all had families who loved them dearly. All of them had friends who still think of them often. All of them were respected and loved by those who served with them. Many, many lives have forever been altered by their loss. For everyone involved, we can't let their memories fade. They mean too much. What they gave is immeasurable. Thank you gentlemen for all you did in the name of love and liberty.