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Posted: 2/14/2002 7:58:20 AM EDT
[red][size=3]This was sent to me by Gib187th[/size=3][/red]
[blue](The author of the below E-mail, Gerry Izzo, is currently a Captain at Comair. He flew one of the UH-60s on the mission that is depicted in the movie "Blackhawk Down) [/blue] During the last few days many pilots have come up to me and asked me if I had seen the movie "Blackhawk Down." I don't mind talking about the movie, and I welcome the opportunity to talk about the heroism and valor of my friends. I just wanted to post some comments here about the movie and my impressions. Also I wanted to try to answer some frequently asked questions. First of all, I and many of my friends that also flew on the mission thought that the movie was excellent! It is technically accurate and it is dramatically correct. In other words, the equipment, lingo and dialogue are all right on. By dramatically correct, I mean that it very effectively captured the emotions and tension that we all felt during the mission. It did this without being a cartoon, (like TOP GUN) or being over the top, (like FIREBIRDS). It's true that the screenwriters had to consolidate two or three people into one, but this was necessary because otherwise there would have been too many principle characters to keep track of. Also in the actual mission we had nearly 20 aircraft in the air that day. In the movie they had 4 Blackhawks an 4 "Little Birds". The unit could not afford to commit the actual number to the filming of the movie. However, through the magic of the cinema, they were able to give the impression of the real number. Our force mixture was as follows: Super 61 - Lead Blackhawk Star 41-44 Little Bird Assault Super 62 - Trail Blackhawk These aircraft made up the assault force. Their mission was to go into the buildings and capture the individuals who were the target of the day. Super 61 was shotdown, killing both pilots. (They were CW4 Cliff Wolcott and CW3 Donovan Briley. The three of us shared a room at the airfield.) Star 41 landed at the crashsite and the pilot CW4 Keith Jones ran over and dragged two survivors to his aircraft and took off for the hospital. Keith re-enacted his actions in the movie. Super 62 was the Blackhawk that put in the two Delta snipers, Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart and Master Sergeant Gary Gordon. They were inserted at crashsite #2. Shortly after Gary and Randy were put in Super 62 was struck in the fuselage by an antitank rocket. The whole right side of the aircraft was opened up and the sniper manning the right door gun had his leg blown off. The aircraft was able to make it out of the battle area to the port area where they made a controlled crash landing. (This is not depicted in the movie.) |
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Next was the Ranger Blocking Force. This consisted of 4 Blackhawks:
Super 64 (CW3 Mike Durant, CW4 Ray Frank) Super 65 (Me, Cpt Richard Williams) Super 66 (CW3 Stan Wood, CW4 Gary Fuller) Super 67 (CW3 Jeff Niklaus, CW2 Sam Shamp) The mission of the blocking force was to be inserted at the four corners of the objective building and to prevent any Somali reinforcements from getting through. In the movie there is a brief overhead shot of the assault. My aircraft is depicted in the lower left hand corner of the screen. This is the only part of the film where I come close to being mentioned. As the assault is completed, you hear the Blackhawks calling out of the objective area. When you hear, "...Super 65 is out, going to holding..." that's my big movie moment. There is also a quick shot of an RPG being shot at a hovering Blackhawk. I did have one maybe two fired at me, but I did not see them or the gunner. I only heard the explosions. We were not able to return fire, although some of the other aircraft did. Make no mistake. I am fully aware of my role in this mission. My job was the same as the landing boat drivers in "Saving Private Ryan." Get the troops in the right place in one piece. I am very proud of the fact that my crew and I were able to do that. After having done this in Grenada, Panama and Somalia, I can identify with the bombardiers of World War Two. You have to ignore all of the chaos that is going on around and completely concentrate on the tasks at hand. That is holding the aircraft as steady as possible so the Rangers can slide down the ropes as quickly and safely as possible. Okay, Okay, enough about me. Super 64 was shot down also with an RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade). They tried to make it back to the airfield, but their tail rotor gave way about a mile out of the objective area. They went down in the worst part of bad guy territory. The dialogue for the movie appears to have been taken from the mission tapes as it is exactly as I remember it. (This was the hardest part of the movie for me to watch). The actions on the ground are as described by Mike Durant, as he was the only one from the crew to survive the crash and the gun battle. It was here the Gary and Randy won their Posthumous Medals of Honor. |
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Super 66 was called in at about 2000 hours to resupply the Rangers at the objective area. Some of the Rangers were completely out of
ammunition and were fighting hand to hand with the Somali militia men. (Also not depicted in the movie). Stan and Gary brought their aircraft in so that they were hovering over the top of the Olympic Hotel with the cargo doors hanging out over the front door. In this way they were able to drop the ammo, water and medical supplies to the men inside. Stan's left gunner fired 1600 rounds of minigun ammo in 30 seconds. He probably killed between 8 to 12 Somali militia men. As Stan pulled out of the objective area, he headed to the airfield because his right gunner had been wounded, as had the two Rangers in the back who were throwing out the supplies. Once he landed, he discovered that he'd been hit by about 40-50 rounds and his transmission leaking oil like a sieve. Super 66 was done for the night. The final group of aircraft were the 4 MH6 gunships, and the command and control Blackhawk and the Search and Rescue 'Hawk'. They were Barber 51-54 MH6's Super 63 C&C Super 68 SAR In the movie, the gunships are shown making only one attack. In fact, they were constantly engaged all night long. Each aircraft reloaded six times. It is estimated that they fired between 70 and 80,000 rounds of minigun ammo and fired a total 90 to 100 aerial rockets. They were the only thing that kept the Somalis from overrunning the objective area. All eight gunship pilots were awarded the Silver Star. Every one of them deserved it! Next is Super 68. The actions of this crew were very accurately portrayed. The only difference was that they were actually hit in the rotor blades by an RPG. This blew a semicircle out of the main rotor spar, but the blade held together long enough for them to finish putting in the medics and Rangers at the first crashsite. It was then that they headed to the airfield. What they did not know, was that their main transmission and engine oil cooler had been destroyed by the blast. As they headed to the airfield all 7 gallons of oil from the main rotor gearbox, and all 7 quarts from each engine was pouring out. They got the aircraft on the ground just as all oil pressures went to zero. They then shutdown, ran to the spare aircraft and took off to rejoin the battle. They were in the air just in time to affect the MEDEVAC of Super 62, which had landed at the seaport. The pilots of this aircraft were CW3 Dan Jollota, and MAJ Herb Rodriguez. Both men were later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Major Rodriguez is retired from the Army now and he teaches middle school with my wife in Clarksville, Tennessee. |
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Finally there is the Command and Controll Blackhawk, Super 63. In the back of this aircraft was my battalion commander, LTC Matthews, and the overall ground commander, LTC Harrell.
In the movie, there is a scene where the men on the ground were begging for MEDEVAC. By this point in the battle we had 5 Blackhawks out of action, either shot down or shot up so much they couldn't fly anymore. Of the two assault force and four blocking force 'hawks', only myself and Super 67 were left. I fully expected LTC Harrell to send us in to try to get those men out. I jacked a round into the chamber of my pistol and my M16. I knew that the only way to do was to hover with one wheel balanced on the roof of the building. Then the Rangers would be able to throw the wounded in. I knew that we were going to take a lot of fire and I was trying to mentally prepare myself to do this while the aircraft was getting hit. My friends had all gone in and taken their licks and now I figured it was our turn. (Peer pressure is such a powerful tool if used properly.) Quite frankly, I really thought that we were at best going to get shot down, at worst I figured we were going to be killed. The way I saw it we had already lost 5 aircraft, what was 2 more? I had accepted this because at least when this was all over General Garrison would be able to tell the families that we had tried everything to get their sons,fathers or husbands out. We were even willing to send in our last two helicopters. Fortunately for me LTC Harrell realized that the time for helicopters had passed. The decision was made to get the tanks and armored personnel carriers to punch through to the objective area. Once again, the dialogue in the movie is verbatim. What you don't hear is me breathing a sigh of relief! I remembered thinking that maybe I was going to see the sunrise after all. I guess I got a little carried away. I really didn't mean to write this much. People ask me if this movie has given me 'flashbacks'. I don't think you can call them flashbacks if that day has never been out of my mind. I hope that when you do see the movie it will fill you with pride and awe for the Rangers that fought their hearts out that day. Believe me, they are made of the same stuff as those kids at Normandy Beach. When 1LT Tom DiTomasso, the Ranger platoon leader on my aircraft, told me that we did a fantastic job, I couldn't imagine ever receiving higher praise than that. I love my wife and children, but the greatest thing I've ever done is to be a Nightstalker Pilot with Task Force Ranger on 3-4 Oct 1993. Thank you for reading this. I look forward to answering any and all questions anyone may have about the movie or the actual battle. I just thought that this might fill in some of the blanks. Thank you again. Capt. Gerry Izzo(Super65) "NSDQ" Nightstalkers Don't Quit |
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Wow. It's nice to hear his version of events as they relate to the movie.
Nightstalkers [b]REALLY[/b] don't quit, that's obvious. |
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Striker, Gib187th, and the annonymous pilot...
[b][size=5]THANK YOU![/b][/size=5] [usa] |
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IS THIS PLACE GREAT OR WHAT!?
Only at AR15.com. Damn, I feel almost like somebody knowing the people that hang out here. A heart felt thank-you to Striker. |
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It is really great to hear this from someone who was there. I saw the movie (3 times so far),
And I have read the book, and hearing it from someone who was there is just cool. |
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Saying I'm impressed would be a gross understatement. Thank you all, gentlemen.
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Your welcome but..all I did was click cut and paste.
The members of the American Armed Forces who answered the call are the ones who should be thanked. I know that they have and always will be. A special thanks to Gib187th (a Vietnam Vet chopper pilot)for giving me the chance to post this. No offense, Striker, but that's just who I meant. And thank you, too, for acting as intermediary. |
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Thanks for the post Striker, it is an excellent read.
Thank you also to Gib187th. And [b]THANK YOU[/b] Capt. Super 65 for all you have done, and are prepared to do for this country. A very humble JGT says "Thanks." |
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A very special thanks to all those involved in sharing this information. This means a LOT to Members & Staff here - I only hope that the author knows how thankful we are for his insight on the REAL story of BHD, and (most of all) his service to our country.
Thank you so very much! - Eric |
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thanks guys. this is one i will save and read many times over.
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This is an awesome first hand account of what happened. Thank you Striker.
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BHD the movie is very real...Hollywoods best.
I Salute all our servicemen. God please keep this Nation strong. Thanks to all involved!!! |
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That is an amazing read! I just want to say, and I think I speak for everyone, that we all owe you a debt of gratitude!
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Thanks for posting the story Striker, these guys are true American Hero's.
This is a link to an article today in the Huntsville Times with Mike Durant. [url]http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/news/101371568210351160.xml[/url] |
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Thanks for taking the time to talk to us here on AR15.com.
The story was one that I could not put down when I read it, and the movie was nearly as good. More important to me is the confrimation that real American patriots and heroes still exist and stand ready to go into harms way when the country calls. It is stories like this one and that of Flight 93 that give me hope for the future of our republic. Ray Proud father of EM2 Pulley aboard FFG 54, USS Ford, "Tenacious" in parts unknown. |
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Excellent post Striker. And thanks to Gib187th and all who have put EVERYTHING on the line to make this the great country that it is!! [USA]
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TO Gizzo and Gib187th are anyone else who happens to drop by here; Thank you all very much.
[marines] Benjamin |
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I read the book and saw the movie and when this happened I followed the scant coverage in the press. I saw the Frontline on the incident and was pretty darn moved.
I have served for 19 years so far and love what I do,,combat is pretty well removed for me. The guys in this action did their jobs to the fullest. Seeing your friends die, teammates and guys you have served with for years is the terrible. Having them die because a gutless draft dodging trash president and his cronies had a stupid idea just pisses me off. I have always been impressed with the "can do" attitude of our guys. I do my best at my job and have always beat it in to my guys that they need to do their best because somebodies life depends on it. Poorly serviced and maintained helicopters would not have performed that well. There is a lesson here for everybody that works in combat support as well. |
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I loved the movie and am currently reading the book. Thanks again for the post. It's great to hear differnt perspectives on the battle....
Incredible story and Incredible bravery! [50] |
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To Cpt Izzo, if you read it, thanks for the report. You and the others involved are a credit to the US ARMY, and to the USA.
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What a great thread. Everyone involved in that action, or any action for that matter, is a true hero and credit to our great nation. Our country was built on the mettle that these guys display. God bless you all.
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I've got one better, this guy lives in my neighborhood:
http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/news/101371568210351160.xml 11 days captured by the Sammies with his leg bone sticking out of his leg; now this is brave!!!! Merlin |
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It is said that on one of the island landings in the Pacific during WW II, Marines got caught in an area with high banks. They were unable to move the landing craft without getting shot up, and began to take heavy fire from the enemy. These 16 to 25 year-olds made that landing by climbing the bridge formed by the dead bodies of their fellow Marines.
After the beachead was secured, one of the commanders, observing this bridge of bodies, asked a question that echoes through two centuries..."My God, My God...Where do we find such men?" AMEN Cpt. Izzo: Thank you. |
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Quoted: I've got one better, this guy lives in my neighborhood: http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/news/101371568210351160.xml 11 days captured by the Sammies with his leg bone sticking out of his leg; now this is brave!!!!Merlin View Quote I don't think he had much of a choice in the matter! He was scared shitless! i would be too. glad to here the movie is accurate! I have respect for these men. |
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First: I want to say thanks to 'Striker' for helping me post this large file. Second: I want to thank my Marine Aviation buddy's at 'Pop-A Smoke' for the forward. Third: Capt. Izzo for a moving tribute to those that gave it all, and the willingness to share painful memories of that action. I had the privilege of serving with an Vietnam Army Aviation Company, co-incidentally called the 187th AHC, 'Blackhawks.' I served as a gunner, not a pilot in both,UH-1 'Slicks' and 'Guns.' Capt Izzo's post brings it all home for me. The traditions of those who went before, still live, and the memory of the Vietnam 'Grunt' will never be forgotten by those that loved, and supported them. With men like these, who dare raise our wraith...?
Thanks for the bandwidth, and best to you all. gib187th |
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Let my add my thanks to all the others in this thread. And a smart salute to the guys who participated in the action in Mogadishu.
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Quoted: I've got one better, this guy lives in my neighborhood: http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/news/101371568210351160.xml 11 days captured by the Sammies with his leg bone sticking out of his leg; now this is brave!!!! Merlin View Quote Did he have a choice? |
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This movie premiers in Sydney and the rest of Australia on 21 Feb 02.
It will be must see. Hey Striker, interesting posts. Cheers, 1feral1 Sydney |
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Just caught the movie down in Seoul Monday (took some of my KATUSAs down there for our day off).
I have honestly never been more impressed at a movie's, with all its time and story limitations, ability to convey a story. It managed to sty non-political and tell the story. Critics have complained about cliches. The truth is when bullets are flying nobody tries to think of original and witty things to say - that only happens in Hollywood fiction. It seemed an incredibly honest and well done tribute to all soldiers everywhere. I walked a bit taller and felt less out of place with my white-walled haircut leaving that theater that day. Adam |
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