Sergeant First Class
RANDALL SHUGHART


Inducted 1994

Biography

Sergeant First Class Randall D. Shughart is inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in Mogadishu, Somalia. In August 1993 while assigned to Task Force Ranger, Sergeant First Class Shughart's mission contingency plans included rescue of any downed aircraft crew. When the first helicopter crashed into the Mogadishu streets, he provided protective covering fire allowing the Ranger rescue team to secure the area around the helicopter. When the second helicopter crashed, Sergeant First Class Shughart could see movement inside. Realizing friendly ground troops could not reach the downed helicopter in time, he requested permission to land. Making their way to the crash site he and another Special Operations soldier removed the seriously wounded helicopter crew from the aircraft. Armed with only a rifle and a pistol he moved around the crash site attempting to stop the rush of an angry Somalian crowd. Checking the downed helicopter for weapons and ammunition, he gave the sole survivor, CWO Michael Durant a rifle and five rounds of ammunition. Armed with only a pistol he continued to safeguard the wounded pilot until he, too, received a fatal wound. When CWO Durant was released from captivity 11 days later, he credited his survival to Sergeant First Class Shughart's unselfish actions. His refusal to leave a fallen comrade, even at the expense of his own life is in keeping with the finest traditions of the Rangers and the United States Army.