IN THE COMPANY OF HEROS

In the Company of Heroes is a book by Michael Durant and Steven Hartov about Durant's experiences in the Battle of Mogadishu, Korea, the Persian Gulf, Thailand, Panama, and Iraq. In the Battle of Mogadishu, the MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, code-named Super Six-Four, that Durant was piloting was shot down over Somalia by a rocket-propelled grenade on October 3, 1993, and he was attacked by a mob and had to fight for his life. MSG Gary Gordon and SFC Randy Shughart volunteered to try to protect the pilot from the mob; while Durant was severely injured, he survived, but Gordon and Shughart did not, and were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for their bravery. Durant became a prisoner of Somali warlord Mohamed Farah Aidid for 11 days.