KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knoxville is set to host a gathering of some of America’s most elite warriors, marking 30 years after an epic battle for survival in the city of Mogadishu along the east coast of Africa in the country of Somalia.
“About 60% casualty rate where (U.S. troops) were injured. I was shot three times, and I have a shrapnel wound in my back,” said John Burns.
He was part of a security convoy entering the city of Mogadishu on a mission to locate and capture a former general turned warlord.
“We had our target secured and located and loaded on the truck within 20 minutes. The next 18 hours was, survive,” said Burns.
He is now 55 years old and is helping coordinate a gathering of his fellow Rangers and Delta Force veterans who served that day as a part of "Operation Gothic Serpent."
“It was up close and personal to six, seven feet, ten feet away — people shooting each other and maiming each other,” said Burns.
He credits his religious faith for helping pull him out of some dark days following that bloody day. Eighteen U.S. service members were killed during the chaos of the harrowing street fight, more than 70 were wounded and two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters were shot down. Military historians say at the time, it marked the largest losses for U.S. troops in a single action since the war in Vietnam.
“Eighty-five percent of that task force that survived went on to serve. I have one friend that's been in 500 sustained gunfights,” said Burns.
Almost 100 of the nearly 175 U.S. veterans who took part in that battle deadly battle in 1993 plan to gather in Knoxville for a reunion in early October. It will mark the first major face-to-face meeting for those veterans in decades.
“This is the first time that our nation's not at war (in 20 years), that a lot of these guys are home,” said Burns.
He has a picture with then-President Bill Clinton who visited him in a hospital stateside during his early days of recovery.
“That day was just a powder keg waiting to happen,” said Scott Johnson.
He served as a combat helicopter pilot and rescued fellow wounded soldiers who survived a gauntlet of gunfire and a fight for survival lasting throughout the day and night of Oct. 3, 1993. He was 25 years old at the time, and the veteran combat pilot would go on to serve a 24-year career as an FBI Special Agent and most recently launched a private security firm.
We first aired a story about his experience in Somalia in 2015.
“I think everybody in the city picked up an AK-47 and just started firing in the air and trying to shoot down everything they could shoot down," he said.
This year marks 30 years since the historic battle that inspired books and the 2001 movie titled, "Black Hawk Down," referencing the two American helicopters shot down in a conflict that left 18 Americans dead and 73 wounded — almost half of the U.S. troops involved in the operation.
“Freedom has a price. And these guys are the most modern-day example of what that price costs,” said Bradley Pruitt.
He is helping organize a reunion here in Knoxville of veterans of the Battle of Mogadishu.
“We'd love as many civilians on the sidewalks of Gay Street just supporting these guys,” said Pruitt, referring to one of the main public events tied to the reunion.
A traditional run is set for Saturday, Oct. 7, starting at 9 a.m. Members of the public can show support for troops during the run. It's known as the annual Mogadishu Mile and is a tribute known by U.S. troops around the world.
Every year, at home and abroad, men and women in uniform take part to honor the Rangers and Delta Force troops forced to run almost a mile through a hail of gunfire to safety in Somalia. And some veterans who ran that fateful mile 30 years ago, will lead the start of the run in Knoxville.