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Selfless service or Seva (a Sankskrit word) is a commonly used term to denote a service which is performed without any expectation of result or award for the person performing it.

Religious significance[link]

The idea of selfless service (seva) is an important concept in most Indian religions. Because God is perceived as having a relationship with others, as well as oneself, serving other people is considered an essential devotional practice of indirectly serving God.

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Amy Poehler
Poehler at the 71st Annual Peabody Awards Luncheon 2012.
Born	Amy Meredith Poehler (1971-09-16) September 16, 1971 (age 40) Newton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, comedian, writer, producer
Years active	1995–present
Spouse	Will Arnett (2003–present; 2 children)

Amy Meredith Poehler  /ˈpoʊlər/ (born September 16, 1971) is an American actress, comedienne, producer and writer. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she had a minor role in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is currently the lead of NBC's comedy Parks and Recreation. She has been nominated twice for both the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance on Saturday Night Live, and for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance in Parks & Recreation. For the latter series she also received a 2012 Golden Globe Award nomination.

Early life[link]

Poehler was born in Newton, Massachusetts, and grew up in Burlington, Massachusetts. She is the daughter of Eileen Frances (née Milmore) and William Grinstead Poehler, both teachers.^[1] She is a distant cousin of author Stephen King and U.S. senator Scott Brown, through shared New England ancestry.^[2][3][4] Poehler was raised Catholic.^[1]

A 1993 graduate of Boston College, Poehler was a member of America's oldest collegiate improv comedy troupe, "My Mother's Fleabag."^[1] After graduating from college, Poehler moved to Chicago, where she studied improvisational theatre at Second City, with friend and future co-star Tina Fey.^[1] She also studied with Del Close at ImprovOlympic, going on to become part of the touring company as well as teaching classes at IO.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

[edit] Upright Citizens Brigade

During her time at Second City and Improv Olympic in Chicago, Poehler studied under Del Close and Charna Halpern along with Matt Besser, where they were part of the original improv team called the Upright Citizens Brigade.^{[citation needed]} While the group initially consisted of many members (including Horatio Sanz, Adam McKay, Rick Roman, and Neil Flynn), Poehler quickly became part of the group along with Matt Walsh. The two, along with Besser and Ian Roberts, performed sketch and improv around Chicago before moving to New York in 1996.^[1] Immediately after moving to New York, the group quickly scored a TV gig,^{[citation needed]} appearing as sketch regulars on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

In 1998, Comedy Central debuted the group's eponymous half-hour sketch comedy series.^{[citation needed]} During the show's second season, the group opened an Improv theatre and training center in New York City at 161 W. 22nd Street, occupying the space of a former strip club.^{[citation needed]} The UCB theatre held shows seven nights a week in addition to offering classes in sketch comedy writing and improv.^[1]

In the summer of 2000, Comedy Central canceled the Upright Citizens Brigade program after its third season, though the UCB Theatre continues to operate.^{[citation needed]} The foursome continue to work together in many projects, and frequently perform together in live improv shows at their comedy theatres in NY and LA.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Saturday Night Live

Poehler joined the cast of SNL during the 2001–02 season, her debut episode being the first one produced after the 9/11 attacks – with host Reese Witherspoon, musical guest Alicia Keys, and New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani as a special guest.^{[citation needed]} Poehler was promoted from featured player to full cast member in her first season on the show, making her only the third person to have earned this distinction (after Harry Shearer and Eddie Murphy).^[5]

Beginning with the 2004–05 season, she co-anchored "Weekend Update" with Tina Fey, replacing the newly departed Jimmy Fallon. In a TV Guide interview, Fey said that with Poehler co-anchoring, there now is "double the sexual tension." When Fey left after the 2005–06 season to devote time to the sitcom she created, 30 Rock, Seth Meyers joined Poehler at the anchor desk. Poehler was nominated for a 2008 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Comedy Series,^[6] the first SNL cast member recognized in this category.^{[citation needed]} She was heavily favored to win by many critics, but ultimately lost to Jean Smart. She was nominated once again in 2009, but lost to Kristin Chenoweth. On September 13, 2008, the SNL season premiere opened with Fey and Poehler as Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton, respectively, performing a "joint political campaign spot."

It was officially announced on September 16, 2008 that Poehler would be leaving SNL in October due to the birth of her child.^{[citation needed]} On the October 25, 2008 episode, it was announced by "Weekend Update" co-anchor Seth Meyers, who anchored the segment alone, "Amy Poehler is not here because she is having a baby", to wild applause from the audience. At the end of "Weekend Update", special guest Maya Rudolph and current cast member Kenan Thompson sang a custom rendition of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" for Poehler, changing the words: "We love you Amy, and we just can't wait to meet your baby!" Meyers signed off: "For Weekend Update, I'm Seth Meyers — we love you Amy!"^{[citation needed]}

Poehler returned to the show on November 3, 2008, during the "SNL Presidential Bash '08", "hosting" as Hillary Clinton. The Bash was pre-taped from scenes shot between September and October. Her return to SNL after her pregnancy was on December 6, 2008, where she stayed for two weeks.^{[citation needed]} During "Weekend Update", on December 13, she thanked her family, friends, and fans for the continued support and announced that it would be her last show.^{[citation needed]} On April 18, 2009, a Saturday Night Live special, "The Best of Amy Poehler", aired.^{[citation needed]} Poehler returned for "Weekend Update" (signing off with "...and he's Seth Meyers") and joined the "chorus" for Will Ferrell's "Goodnight Saigon" (along with the SNL cast and Tom Hanks, Maya Rudolph, Norm Macdonald, Artie Lange, Anne Hathaway, and Green Day) on the SNL season finale on May 16, 2009.^{[citation needed]}

Poehler returned to the "Weekend Update" desk in the fall of 2009 with Meyers, for two "WU" Thursday episodes, which led directly into Parks and Recreation.^{[citation needed]} Poehler also returned to Saturday Night Live for a special Mother's Day episode on May 8, 2010, hosted by Betty White.^[7]

Poehler returned to Saturday Night Live on September 25, 2010 to host the Season 36 opening episode with performer Katy Perry.^{[citation needed]} She returned once again for the Saturday Night Live special, "The Women of SNL". The special aired on November 1, 2010.^{[citation needed]} Between the time she left and the time she hosted, she also returned several times to join Seth Meyers in their "Really!?! With Seth and Amy" segment on Weekend Update. The "Really!?!" segment has aired since with Meyers speaking doing the segment alone, although he was once accompanied by special guest Kermit the Frog. Poehler appeared as a guest in the December 18, 2011 Jimmy-Fallon-hosted episode, starring in the opening sketch and a Weekend Update joke-off with Fallon, Meyers and Tina Fey. She appeared once again on the February 18, 2012 Maya Rudolph-hosted episode, reprising her role as Betty Caruso in the Bronx Beat sketch (with co-host Maya Rudolph), co-anchoring Weekend Update as well as a segment of "Really!?! With Seth and Amy", and appearing briefly as Hillary Clinton at the end of the "The Obama Show" sketch.

[edit] Parks and Recreation

Poehler with Parks and Recreation co-star Aubrey Plaza at the 2012 Time 100 gala

In July 2008, Variety reported that Poehler was in final negotiations to star in a series by writers Greg Daniels and Mike Schur, set to air on Thursdays before The Office, starting January 2009 on NBC.^[8] On July 21, 2008, NBC officially announced Poehler's new series, Parks and Recreation, saying the project would not be a direct spin-off of The Office, as previously speculated.^[9]

Poehler joined an ensemble cast including Aziz Ansari, Rashida Jones, Chris Pratt, Aubrey Plaza, Paul Schneider, Nick Offerman, and starting with the third season, Adam Scott, and Rob Lowe. Poehler plays Deputy Director of the Parks Department, Leslie Knope, in the fictional city of Pawnee, Indiana. After a rough first season, the show's second season and third season have been well received by critics, and Poehler received an Emmy nomination for her role. NBC has since renewed Parks and Recreation for a fourth season. Poehler was featured in The Advocate for her role in the show.^{[citation needed]}

Amy Poehler has also written three episodes of the series, the first being Telethon in season 2, which was the episode Poehler sent in as her Emmy Awards submission in 2010. The second one is the episode entitled The Fight, which aired on May 12, 2011. She both wrote and directed the 4th season episode "The Debate".^[10]

Poehler was once again nominated for an Emmy Award - Oustanding Actress in a Comedy in 2011. She sent the episode Flu Season as her submission.^{[citation needed]}

Film career and other work[link]

Tina Fey and Poehler at the premiere of Baby Mama in New York.

Poehler has appeared in the films Wet Hot American Summer, Mean Girls, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny, Blades of Glory, Envy, Shrek the Third, Mr. Woodcock, and Hamlet 2. She is^[when?] producing a digital series with two of her friends, Meredith Walker and Amy Miles, Smart Girls at the Party, available through ON Networks.^[11][12] The show is focused on interviews with young women who are "changing the world by being themselves".^[13] The first season of 'Smart Girls at the Party' premiered online November 17, 2008, with Mattel's Barbie signed on as the lead sponsor. Smart Girls at the Party is returning to production in 2012 as part of Google's 100 Channel YouTube initiative to create new content. The new Smart Girls at the Party YouTube Channel will go live on July 2, 2012 and include new episodes of Smart Girls at the Party along with additional shows by Amy, Meredith, and Amy.^[14]

She appeared in various comedy segments on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, often playing her recurring role as Andy Richter's little sister Stacy, and as a recurring character in two episodes of the college dramedy Undeclared. She appears in the film Southland Tales, which premiered on May 21, 2006 at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. In 2008, she appeared in Horton Hears a Who!, Hamlet 2, Baby Mama, and Spring Breakdown. She has also co-created an animated series for Nickelodeon called The Mighty B!, about Bessie Higgenbottom, a "sweet, merit-badge-obsessed girl scout", to which she lends her vocal talents.^[15] In 2009, Poehler earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Series.^[16]

In 2011 Poehler received the honor of being named one of TIME magazine's "100 most influential people in the world".^[17] She also delivered the Class Day address to Harvard University's class of 2011.^[18]

Personal life[link]

Poehler married Will Arnett of the Fox comedy Arrested Development on August 29, 2003, and had a recurring role in the series as the nameless wife of Arnett's character George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II.^{[citation needed]} Poehler and Arnett also played a quasi-incestuous brother-sister ice skating team in the 2007 film Blades of Glory, and appeared together in Horton Hears a Who!, On Broadway, Spring Breakdown, and Monsters vs. Aliens, along with Arnett having a guest appearance on Poehler's NBC comedy Parks and Recreation and both did voice acting on The Secret World of Arrietty. On October 25, 2008, Poehler gave birth to her first child, son Archibald William Emerson "Archie" Arnett, just hours before the Saturday Night Live telecast.^[19] Poehler gave birth to her second son, Abel James Arnett, on August 6, 2010.^[20] She is a supporter of Planned Parenthood.^[21][22]

Filmography[link]

[edit] Notable characters on SNL

• Amber, a one-legged hypoglycemic reality show contestant.
• Betty Caruso, Bronx Beat co-host (opposite Maya Rudolph).
• Kaitlin, the excitable preteen titular character of Kaitlin and Rick (opposite Horatio Sanz).
• Netti Bo Dance, a frequent patient at the Appalachian Emergency Room.
• Sally Needler, half of The Needlers, "the couple that should be divorced" (opposite Seth Meyers).
• Zoe Anderton, the pun loving, David Beckham-obsessed Spy Glass co-host (opposite Seth Meyers).

Impressions[link]

Poehler has impersonated Dakota Fanning, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barbara Boxer, Sharon Osbourne, Britney Spears, Paula Abdul, Rosie O'Donnell, Kelly Ripa, Ann Coulter, Madonna, Avril Lavigne, Sharon Stone, Nancy Grace, Michael Jackson, Lindsay Lohan, Christian Siriano, Peter Ostrum, David Spade, Mr. Six, Tonya Harding, Dennis Kucinich, Fergie, Judy Garland, J. K. Rowling, Kim Jong-il, Jenna Bush, Katie Couric, Tinker Bell, and Rosie Perez.

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Amy Poehler

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amy Poehler

• Amy Poehler at the Internet Movie Database
• Amy Poehler on Charlie Rose
• Works by or about Amy Poehler in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Amy Poehler on National Public Radio in 2009
• Amy Poehler named one of Men's Vogue's 2008 Visionaries
• TODAY talent are on People magazine annual list of 100, led by Applegate
• Amy Poehler at Emmys.com

Randall David Shughart
Shughart as a Sergeant First Class
Nickname	Randy
Born	August 13, 1958 (1958-08-13) Lincoln, Nebraska
Died	October 3, 1993 (1993-10-04) (aged 35) Mogadishu, Somalia
Place of burial	Westminster Cemetery, Carlisle, PA
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1976 - 1993
Rank	Sergeant First Class
Unit	1st SFOD-Delta
Battles/wars	Operation Just Cause Battle of Mogadishu
Awards	Medal of Honor (posthumous) Purple Heart

Sergeant First Class Randall David Shughart (August 13, 1958–October 3, 1993) was a soldier in the United States Army special operations unit, the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1SFOD-D), or "Delta Force." Shughart posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Mogadishu in October 1993.

Biography[link]

Shughart was born on August 13, 1958 in Lincoln, Nebraska into an Air Force family. After his father, Herbert Shughart, left the Air Force, the Shugharts moved to Newville, Pennsylvania to live and work on a dairy farm.^[1] Shughart joined the Army while attending Big Spring High School in Newville, entering upon graduation in 1976. After completing basic training, he successfully completed AIT (advanced individual training), Airborne School, and in 1978 was assigned to the 2nd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment), at Fort Lewis, Washington.^[2] Several months later he completed a pre-ranger course (currently known as SURT, Small Unit Ranger Tactics), was granted a slot to attend Ranger School, graduated, and earned the Ranger Tab. Shughart left active duty and went into the Army Reserve in June 1980. In December 1983, Shughart returned to active duty and the following year attended Special Forces training. Shughart was assigned to "Delta Force" and was transferred to Fort Bragg, North Carolina in June 1986.^[3]

Shughart was deployed to Mogadishu, Somalia in 1993 as part of Task Force Ranger. On October 3, 1993 during Operation Gothic Serpent, an assault mission to apprehend advisers to Mohamed Farrah Aidid. Super Six One, was shot down in the city. A Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) team came to secure it. Then, Super Six Four was shot down.^[3]

Shughart, Gary Gordon and Sergeant First Class Brad Hallings had been providing sniper cover from the air. Gary Gordon wanted to be inserted to secure the crash site and hostile Somalis were converging on the area.^[3]

Mission commanders denied Gordon's request twice,^[1] saying that the situation was too dangerous for the Delta snipers to protect the crew from the ground.^[4] Command's position was that the snipers could be of more assistance by providing air cover. Gordon, however, repeated his request until he got permission. Sergeant First Class Brad Hallings stayed to provide cover.^[4]

Shughart and Gordon were inserted approximately 100m from the crash site, armed with their sniper rifles and sidearms, and made their way to the downed Blackhawk. Chief Warrant Officer Mike Durant was already defending the aircraft with an MP5 but was unable to move from his chair due to a crushed vertebra in his back and a compound fracture of his left femur. When they reached Super Six Four, they extracted Durant and the crew members from the crash and defended the aircraft.^[3] It is believed that Gordon was first to be shot by the mob, which had surrounded the crash site. Shughart retrieved Gordon's CAR-15 rifle and gave it to Durant to use. Shortly after, Shughart was killed, the site was overrun and Durant was taken hostage.^[1] According to Michael Durant's book In the Company of Heroes, the Somalis counted 25 of their militia dead after the firefight.^[5]

There was some confusion in the aftermath of the action as to who had been killed first. The official citation states that it was Shughart, but author Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, relates an account by Sergeant Paul Howe who heard Shughart call for help on the radio and that the weapon handed to Durant was not the distinctive M14 rifle used by Shughart. Furthermore, Howe said that Shughart would not have given his weapon to someone while he could still fight. Durant later admitted that he initially misidentified which man was killed first, but did not wish to change the official record.^[4] Shughart is buried in Westminster Cemetery, Carlisle, PA.^[6]

In the 2001 film Black Hawk Down, Shughart was portrayed by actor Johnny Strong.^[7]

Honors and awards[link]

SFC Shughart's personal decorations include:

125px

Medal of Honor[link]

On May 23, 1994, Shughart and Gordon were posthumously decorated with the Medals of Honor for protecting the crew of Super Six Four. They were the first Medal of Honor recipients since the Vietnam War.^[8]

Medal of Honor citation[link]

Citation:

Sergeant First Class Shughart, United States Army, distinguished himself by actions above and beyond the call of duty on 3 October 1993, while serving as a Sniper Team Member, United States Army Special Operations Command with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu, Somalia. Sergeant First Class Shughart provided precision sniper fires from the lead helicopter during an assault on a building and at two helicopter crash sites, while subjected to intense automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fires. While providing critical suppressive fires at the second crash site, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader learned that ground forces were not immediately available to secure the site. Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader unhesitatingly volunteered to be inserted to protect the four critically wounded personnel, despite being well aware of the growing number of enemy personnel closing in on the site. After their third request to be inserted, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader received permission to perform this volunteer mission. When debris and enemy ground fires at the site caused them to abort the first attempt, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader were inserted one hundred meters south of the crash site. Equipped with only his sniper rifle and a pistol, Sergeant First Class Shughart and his team leader, while under intense fire from the enemy, fought their way through a dense maze of shanties and shacks to reach the critically injured crew members. Sergeant First Class Shughart pulled the pilot and the other crew members from the aircraft, establishing a perimeter which placed him and his fellow sniper in the most vulnerable position. Sergeant First Class Shughart used his long range rifle and side arm to kill an undetermined number of attackers while traveling the perimeter, protecting the downed crew. Sergeant First Class Shughart continued his protective fire until he depleted his ammunition and was fatally wounded. His actions saved the pilot's life. Sergeant First Class Shughart's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest standards of military service and reflect great credit upon him, his unit and the United States Army.

[edit] USNS Shughart

U.S. Navy Large, Medium-speed, Roll-on/Roll-off Ship Shughart (T-AKR 295)

In 1997 the United States Navy named a roll-on/roll-off ship USNS Shughart in a ceremony at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, San Diego, California. The ceremony was attended by a number of Naval officers and politicians including John W. Douglass, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition; Senator Bob Kerrey (D); as well as his Commanding officer at the time of his death, and others. The ship was the first "Large Medium Speed Roll On/Roll Off (LMSR) ship" to undergo conversion from a commercial container vessel to a sealift cargo ship.^[9]

Controversy[link]

Herbert Shughart, Randall Shughart's father, attended the Medal of Honor presentation ceremony at the White House, where he refused to shake hands with President Bill Clinton.^[10] He then proceeded to openly criticize the president, saying, "You are not fit to be president of the United States. The blame for my son's death rests with the White House and with you. You are not fit to command."^[11]

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	United States Army portal

• List of Medal of Honor recipients

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Eversmann, Matt (2004). The Battle of Mogadishu: First Hand Accounts from the Men of Task Force Ranger. Presidio Press. ISBN 0-345-45965-2. 

External links[link]

• "Carlisle Barracks to dedicate Shughart Hall". http://www.carlisle.army.mil/banner/shughart.htm. Retrieved February 16, 2010. 
• "JFK Special Warfare Museum: Medal of Honor recipients". http://www.soc.mil/swcs/museum/medofhon.shtml. Retrieved February 16, 2010. ^{[dead link]}
• "Remarks by the President at Medal of Honor ceremony". http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/intl/somalia/clin0523.txt. Retrieved February 16, 2010. 
• "U.S. Army Infantry Homepage: National Infantry Museum - Operation Restore Hope". http://www.infantry.army.mil/museum/inside_tour/descriptive_tour/17_somalia.htm. Retrieved February 16, 2010. ^{[dead link]}
• "Naming of Randall D. Shughart United States Post Office Building in Newville, Pennsylvania". http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/pa09_shuster/shughart.html. Retrieved February 16, 2010. 
• "Special Forces Association Chapter LXIV, SFC Randall Shughart Memorial Chapter, Carlisle, PA". http://bobmcdowell.com/. Retrieved February 16, 2010. 
• "Randall Shughart Memorial in the Veterans Memorial Grove at West Perry High School, Perry County, Pennsylvania". http://www.westperry.k12.pa.us/606946217144914/blank/browse.asp?a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=52289. Retrieved February 16, 2010. ^{[dead link]}
• "Medal of Honor recipients on Film". http://www.voicenet.com/~lpadilla/blackhawk.html. Retrieved February 16, 2010. 
• Shughart-Gordon Urban Operations Training Center ("MOUT Site"), US Army Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk, Louisiana.
• "Randy Shughart". Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor recipients. Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6062619. Retrieved July 18, 2010. 

Gary Ivan Gordon
Gordon as a Sergeant First Class
Born	(1960-08-30)August 30, 1960 Lincoln, Maine
Died	October 3, 1993(1993-10-03) (aged 33) Mogadishu, Somalia
Place of burial	Lincoln Cemetery, Penobscot County, Maine
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1978–1993
Rank	Master Sergeant
Unit	1st SFOD-Delta
Battles/wars	Operation Just Cause Battle of Mogadishu
Awards	Medal of Honor (posthumous) Purple Heart Meritorious Service Medal Army Commendation Medal Joint Service Achievement Medal (2) Joint Meritorious Unit Award Good Conduct Medal (4)

Master Sergeant Gary Ivan Gordon (August 30, 1960 – October 3, 1993) is a posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor. At the time of his death, he was a non-commissioned officer in the United States Army's premiere special operations unit, the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1SFOD-D), or "Delta Force." Together with Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions he performed during the Battle of Mogadishu in October 1993.

Biography[link]

Gary Gordon was born August 30, 1960 in Lincoln, Maine and graduated from Mattanawcook Academy in 1978. He joined the U.S. Army that same year at age 18 and after serving with the 2nd Battalion of the 10th Special Forces Group he was chosen to join the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1SFOD-D), or "Delta Force", as a sniper.^[1] Before deploying with his unit to Somalia he married his wife Carmen and together they had two children.^[2]

Combat and death in Somalia[link]

Gordon was deployed to Mogadishu, Somalia with other Delta members in the summer of 1993 as part of Task Force Ranger. On October 3, 1993 Gordon was Sniper Team Leader during Operation Gothic Serpent, a joint-force assault mission to apprehend key advisers to Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. During the assault, Super Six One, one of the Army's Black Hawk helicopters providing insertion and air support to the assault team, was shot down and crashed in the city. A Combat Search and Rescue team was dispatched to the first crash site to secure it and a short time later Super Six Four was shot down as well. Ranger forces on the ground were not able to assist the downed helicopter crew of the second crash site as they were already engaged in heavy combat with Aidid's militia and making their way to the first crash site.^[1]

Gordon and his Delta Force sniper teammates Sergeant First Class Randall Shughart and Sergeant First Class Brad Hallings, who were providing sniper cover from the air, wanted to be dropped at the second crash site in order to protect the four critically wounded crew, despite the fact that large numbers of armed, hostile Somalis were converging on the area. Mission commanders denied Gordon's request, saying that the situation was already too dangerous for the three Delta snipers to effectively protect the Blackhawk crew from the ground. Command's position was that the snipers could be of more assistance by continuing to provide air cover. Gordon, however, concluded that there was no way the Black Hawk crew could survive on their own, and repeated his request twice until he finally received permission. Sergeant First Class Brad Hallings had assumed control of a minigun after a crew chief was injured and was not inserted with Shughart and Gordon.^[1]

Once on the ground, Gordon and Shughart, armed with only their personal weapons and sidearms, fought their way to the downed Blackhawk. By this time more Somalis were arriving who were intent on either capturing or killing the American servicemen. When they reached Super Six Four, Gordon and Shughart extracted the pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Mike Durant and the other crew members from the aircraft, and established defensive positions around the crash site. Despite having inflicted heavy casualties against the Somalis, the two Delta snipers were too outnumbered and outgunned. Their ammunition nearly depleted, Gordon and Shughart were killed by Somali gunfire. It is believed that Gordon was first to be killed. His teammate Shughart retrieved Gordon's CAR-15 and gave it to Durant to use. Shortly after, Shughart was killed and Durant was taken alive. Immediately after the battle, the Somalis counted 24 of their own men dead with many more severely wounded.^[1]

He died there in Somalia October 3, 1993 and is buried in Lincoln Cemetery, Penobscot County, Maine.^[3]

Controversy and Confusion[link]

There was some confusion in the aftermath of the action as to who had been killed first. The official citation states that it was Shughart, but author Mark Bowden, author of Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, the book about the October 1993 events, relates an account by Sergeant Paul Howe, another Delta operator participating in the battle. Howe said that he heard Shughart call for help on the radio and that the weapon handed to Durant was not the distinctive M14 used by Shughart. Furthermore, Howe said that Shughart would never have given his own weapon to another soldier to use while he was still able to fight.^[4] In Durant's book, In the Company of Heroes, he states that Gordon was on the left side of the Blackhawk, after both he and Shughart moved Durant to a safer location, and only heard Gordon say, "Damn, I'm hit." Afterwards Shughart came from the left side of the Blackhawk with the CAR-15.^[5]

After the attack on the United States on September 11, 2001, United States Special Forces units were inserted into Afghanistan to assist the Northern Alliance forces in overthrowing the Taliban and Al-Qaeda terrorists. Following an intense mountain battle known as Operation Anaconda in March 2002, U.S. troops searching a bunker complex found a GPS unit and holding pouch labeled "G. Gordon". Intelligence analysts believed at first this was Sergeant Gordon's GPS unit that he purchased on the private market and used in Somalia. The Gordon family was notified immediately of the find prior to the information being released to the public.^[6] It ultimately turned out that it wasn't Gordon's GPS but one of a helicopter pilot lost in an earlier fight during Operation Anaconda.^[7][8]

Honors and awards[link]

MSG Gordon's personal decorations include:

125px

During his military career he earned the following military decorations: Medal of Honor, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medals (x2), Good Conduct Medal (x4), Combat Infantryman Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Ranger Tab, Special Forces Tab, French Army Mountaineering Badge, the Royal Danish Parachutist Badge and the Joint Meritorious Unit Award.^[1]

Medal of Honor[link]

President Clinton presents The Medal of Honor to Carmen, the widow of Master Sergeant Gary I. Gordon.

On May 23, 1994, both Gordon and Shughart posthumously received the Medal of Honor in recognition for the actions they took and the sacrifices they made to help protect the life of Durant and the crew of Super Six Four. They were the only soldiers participating in Operation Gothic Serpent to receive the military's highest honor, and the first Medal of Honor recipients since the Vietnam War.^[9] Their medals were presented to their wives Stephanie Shugart and Carmen Gordon by President of the United States Bill Clinton in a ceremony at the White House.^[2]

Medal of Honor citation[link]

Citation:

Master Sergeant Gordon, United States Army, distinguished himself by actions above and beyond the call of duty on 3 October 1993, while serving as Sniper Team Leader, United States Army Special Operations Command with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu, Somalia. Master Sergeant Gordon's sniper team provided precision fire from the lead helicopter during an assault and at two helicopter crash sites, while subjected to intense automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fires. When Master Sergeant Gordon learned that ground forces were not immediately available to secure the second crash site, he and another sniper unhesitatingly volunteered to be inserted to protect the four critically wounded personnel, despite being well aware of the growing number of enemy personnel closing in on the site. After his third request to be inserted, Master Sergeant Gordon received permission to perform his volunteer mission. When debris and enemy ground fires at the site caused them to abort the first attempt, Master Sergeant Gordon was inserted one hundred meters south of the crash site. Equipped with only his sniper rifle and a pistol, Master Sergeant Gordon and his fellow sniper, while under intense small arms fire from the enemy, fought their way through a dense maze of shanties and shacks to reach the critically injured crew members. Master Sergeant Gordon immediately pulled the pilot and the other crew members from the aircraft, establishing a perimeter which placed him and his fellow sniper in the most vulnerable position. Master Sergeant Gordon used his long range rifle and side arm to kill an undetermined number of attackers until he depleted his ammunition. Master Sergeant Gordon then went back to the wreckage, recovering some of the crew's weapons and ammunition. Despite the fact that he was critically low on ammunition, he provided some of it to the dazed pilot and then radioed for help. Master Sergeant Gordon continued to travel the perimeter, protecting the downed crew. After his team member was fatally wounded and his own rifle ammunition exhausted, Master Sergeant Gordon returned to the wreckage, recovering a rifle with the last five rounds of ammunition and gave it to the pilot with the words, "good luck." Then, armed only with his pistol, Master Sergeant Gordon continued to fight until he was fatally wounded. His actions saved the pilot's life. Master Sergeant Gordon's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest standards of military service and reflect great credit upon him, his unit and the United States Army.^[9]

USNS Gordon[link]

The U.S. Navy officially named a roll-on/roll-off ship USNS Gordon in a ceremony at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, July 4, 1996, at Newport News, Virginia. Congressman John Murtha (D) of Pennsylvania, was the ceremony's principal speaker and serving as the ship's sponsor was Carmen Gordon, widow of the ship's namesake. Gordon was the second ship to undergo conversion from a commercial container vessel to a Large Medium Speed Roll On/Roll Off (LMSR) sealift ship and is operated by the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command, Washington, D.C.^[10]

Other honors[link]

Many things have been named after Gordon. Gordon Elementary School in Linden Oaks, Harnett County, North Carolina, which opened in January 2009, was named in his honor. The school is near Fort Bragg, where Gordon was stationed before being deployed to Somalia.^[11]

In the 2001 film Black Hawk Down, Gordon was portrayed by Danish actor Nikolaj Coster Waldau; the account would generally follow that of the book.

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	United States Army portal

• List of Medal of Honor recipients
• U.S. Army Special Forces
• U.S. Special Operations Forces
• 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), the "Night Stalkers"
• Operation Restore Hope

References[link]

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History.

Further reading[link]

• Eversmann, Matt (2004). The Battle of Mogadishu: First Hand Accounts from the Men of Task Force Ranger. Presidio Press. ISBN 0-345-45965-2. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gary Gordon

• "Gary Gordon". Hall of Valor. Military Times. http://www.militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=1001. Retrieved February 12, 2010. 
• "Medal of Honor recipients on Film". http://www.voicenet.com/~lpadilla/blackhawk.html. Retrieved September 29, 2010. 
• "Monument". http://www.maine.gov/sos/kids/cmoh/showcase/gordon.htm. Retrieved September 29, 2010. 
• "Deputy Secretary of Defense England's Remarks at the Visions of Valor Medal of Honor Event". http://www.defense.gov/Transcripts/Transcript.aspx?TranscriptID=923. Retrieved September 29, 2010. 
• "Gary Gordon's grave at Findagrave". http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=gordon&GSfn=gary&GSbyrel=in&GSdy=1993&GSdyrel=in&GSob=n&GRid=6062603&df=all&. Retrieved September 29, 2010. 

Tarun Vijay (born in 1961) is an Indian author, social worker, famous freelance journalist, and parliamentarian. He was the editor of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) weekly in Hindi, Panchajanya, from 1986 to February 2008, and is a columnist of the newspaper The Times of India. He also writes for the Daily Pioneer. He is currently working as the director of the [Dr. Syamaprasad Mookerjee Research Foundation (DSMRF).^[1] He has been recently elected as member of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian Parliament.

Career[link]

Tarun Vijay joined Panchajanya in 1986 as executive editor, after a decade of freelance journalism and work among tribals in Dadra and Nagar Haveli as a pracharak of Bharatiya Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram. This last-mentioned sojourn, in fact, had attracted him the attention of noted film-makers Basu Bhattacharya and William Greaves, who featured him in a documentary.

Tarun Vijay was appointed director of the BJP's newly created think-tank the Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee Research foundation. In 1995, the Audit Bureau of Circulation credited the magazine with a circulation of 85,000, a figure which Vijay claims has crossed the 1 lakh mark today.

Vijay, who is also a columnist with The Times of India, joined Panchjanya in 1979. He has been Chief Editor for 20 years. The first editor of the 60-year-old Panchjanya was former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Vijay has also been inducted as a special invitee to the BJP national executive. He has been asked by the RSS top brass to form the think-tank on the ideological lines of nationalism "uncompromising and unapologetic".

A journalist since 1976, he began his career with Russi Karanjia at the Mumbai-based tabloid Blitz and then as a freelance journalist for major dailies and magazines before spending five years as an RSS activist in the country's tribal areas. He was the youngest member of the then home minister's Hindi Language advisory committee during Indira Gandhi's government before joining Panchjanya.

An avid photographer he has covered the Himalayan region extensively and his pictorial book An Odyssey in Tibet has been well received. His photographs on the river Indus had been exhibited in Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. He also led the first Indus expedition from Demchok to Batalik.

In the years as editor of Panchajanya, he has visited various parts of the country, and various countries.^[2]

He has authored two books. Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee released a book of Shri Tarun Vijay titled An Odyssey in Tibet: Pilgrimage of Kailash Mansarovar^[3] in New Delhi

Books[link]

• An Odyssey in Tibet: Pilgrimage of Kailash Mansarovar, Ritwik Prakashan, Jan 2001, ISBN 81-900571-2-X
• Saffron Surge, India's Re-emergence on the Global Scene and Hindu Ethos, Har Anand, Nov 2008, ISBN 978-81-241-1338-7

References[link]

	literature portal
	Tibet portal
	India portal

External links[link]

• Tarun Vijay's website
• Panchajanya online publication
• Last article on TOI as editor of Panchajanya (dated 20th Feb, 2008)
• First article on TOI as director of Syamaprasad Mookerjee Research Foundation (dated 28th Feb, 2008)
• review of Saffron Surge, India's Re-emergence on the Global Scene and Hindu Ethos
• Business standard on SAFFRON SURGE INDIA’S RE-EMERGENCE ON THE GLOBAL SCENE AND HINDU ETHOS