American Soldier. Staff Sergeant Thomas J. "Tommy" Field served in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), also known as the Night Stalkers - an elite group of the Army's best aviators. He was a crew chief on Super 6-4, one of the Black Hawk helicopters that was shot down during Operation Gothic Serpent in the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia. The battle ended up being the biggest firefight for American troops since the Vietnam War. Sergeant Field survived the crash, but was killed (along with co-pilot Raymond Frank, crew chief William Cleveland, and Delta Force snipers Randy Shughart and Gary Gordon, who were trying to defend the wounded crew) when the crash site was taken over by an angry mob of Somali militia. He was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Air Medal with Valor Device, Meritorious Service Medal, and Purple Heart. His ordeal, and that of his comrades, is the basis for the award-winning movie "Black Hawk Down", in which he is one of the soldiers listed at the beginning of the credits that the movie is dedicated to.
American Soldier. Staff Sergeant Thomas J. "Tommy" Field served in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), also known as the Night Stalkers - an elite group of the Army's best aviators. He was a crew chief on Super 6-4, one of the Black Hawk helicopters that was shot down during Operation Gothic Serpent in the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia. The battle ended up being the biggest firefight for American troops since the Vietnam War. Sergeant Field survived the crash, but was killed (along with co-pilot Raymond Frank, crew chief William Cleveland, and Delta Force snipers Randy Shughart and Gary Gordon, who were trying to defend the wounded crew) when the crash site was taken over by an angry mob of Somali militia. He was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Air Medal with Valor Device, Meritorious Service Medal, and Purple Heart. His ordeal, and that of his comrades, is the basis for the award-winning movie "Black Hawk Down", in which he is one of the soldiers listed at the beginning of the credits that the movie is dedicated to.
