{"product_id":"the-battle-of-mogadishu-firsthand-accounts-from-the-men-of-task-force-ranger","title":"The Battle of Mogadishu: Firsthand Accounts from the Men of Task Force Ranger","description":"\u003cp\u003eNo matter how skilled the writer of nonfiction  you are always getting the story secondhand. Heres a chance to go right to the source. . . . These men were there. MARK BOWDEN (from the Foreword)  It started as a mission to capture a Somali warlord. It turned into a disastrous urban firefight and death-defying rescue operation that shocked the world and rattled a great nation. Now the 1993 battle for Mogadishu  Somaliathe incident that was the basis of the book and film Black Hawk Downis remembered by the men who fought and survived it. Six of the best in our military recall their brutal experiences and brave contributions in these never-before-published  firstperson accounts.  Operation Gothic Serpent  by Matt Eversmann: As a chalk leader  Eversmann was part of the first group of Rangers to fast rope from the Black Hawk helicopters. It was his chalk that suffered the first casualty of the battle.  Sua Sponte: Of Their Own Accord  by Raleigh Cash: Responsible for controlling and directing fire support for the platoon  Cash entered the raging battle in the ground convoy sent to rescue his besieged brothers in arms.  Through My Eyes  by Mike Kurth: One of only two African Americans in the battle  Kurth confronted his buddies deaths  realizing that the only people whom I had let get anywhere near me since I was a child were gone.  What Was Left Behind  by John Belman: He roped into the biggest firefight of the battle and considers some of the mistakes that were made  such as using Black Hawk helicopters to provide sniper cover.  Be Careful What You Wish For  by Tim Wilkinson: He was one of the Air Force pararescuemen or PJsthe highly trained specialists for whom That Others May Live is no catchphrase but a credoand sums up his incomprehensible courage as just holding up my end of the deal on a bad day.  On Friendship and Firefights  by Dan Schilling: As a combat controller  he was one of the original planners for the deployment of SOF forces to Mogadishu in the spring of 1993. During the battle  he survived the initial assault and carnage of the vehicle convoys only to return to the city to rescue his two closest friends  becoming  literally  Last Out.  With Americas withdrawal from Somalia an oft-cited incitement to Osama bin Laden  it is imperative to revisit this seminal military mission and learn its lessons from the men who were there and  amazingly  are still here.  From the Hardcover edition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44947328794677,"sku":"ByrdShop_0345466683","price":59.08,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780345466686.jpg?v=1770008805","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-battle-of-mogadishu-firsthand-accounts-from-the-men-of-task-force-ranger","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}