Chief Warrant
Officer
Mike Durant

On October 3, 1993, Chief Warrant Officer Michael Durant was piloting Super Six-Four, an MH-60 Black Hawk with the elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment — the Night Stalkers — over the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia.

An RPG shattered the tail rotor. His aircraft went down deep in hostile territory. The mission became one of the most intense urban firefights fought by US forces since Vietnam — a story later told to the world as Black Hawk Down.

Two Delta Force operators — Master Sergeant Gary Gordon and Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart — voluntarily inserted at the crash site to defend Durant. Both were killed protecting him. Both were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Durant was captured and held prisoner for 11 days. His release, and the memoirs he later wrote, offered Americans a rare, honest window into the courage of ordinary soldiers in an impossible situation.

"Courage isn't the absence of fear. It's the presence of purpose."

CWO Durant retired from the Army in 1996 with the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Prisoner of War Medal. Today he shares his story with audiences across the country — bringing home the weight of the sacrifice made by his brothers in arms, and the values that carried him through.