
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, March 20, 1994                   TAG: 9403200051
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Newsday
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

GREEN BERETS MAY GET CONGRESSIONAL MEDALS

The U.S. Army has approved the first awarding of the Congressional Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War, for two Green Beret sergeants who jumped into the middle of a fierce Somalia firefight Oct. 3 and were killed defending the crew of a downed Army helicopter.

Pentagon officials said Army Secretary Togo West recently approved the nation's highest award for valor to Special Forces Master Sgt. Gary Gordon, 33, of Lincoln, Maine, and Sgt. 1st Class Randall Shugart, 35, of Blain, Pa.

Although still subject to the recommendation of Defense Secretary William Perry, the Army action represents the major hurdle for the awards, defense officials said. They were approved by the top secret Delta Force and Special Operations commanders after an extensive investigation of events surrounding the deaths.

"Without a doubt, I owe my life to these two men and their bravery," said Chief Warrant Officer Michael Durant, the only member of a Blackhawk helicopter crew to survive the crash during last year's battle in Mogadishu.

In interviews with Newsday and other news organizations, survivors of the battle described Gordon and Shugart as two quiet professionals who did not hesitate to risk their lives for the downed crew. They were cited for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life, above and beyond the call of duty."

Durant was piloting one of two Blackhawks shot down during the final effort by the Clinton administration to capture Somali Gen. Mohammed Farah Aidid. Eighteen Americans were killed and 77 wounded during the battle. An estimated 300 Somalis were killed and 700 wounded.

by CNB