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THE WEIRS TIMES & THE COCHECO TIMES, Thursday, November 7, 2013 durant from 16
er and American officials conveyed to Aidid’s people that very, very, very bad things would happen to all of them if Durant didn’t survive. Finally, on October 14, with the help of the International Red Cross, the Granite Stater and his Bible were placed on a stretcher and transported to an exchange point where he was reunited with his countrymen. Mike Durant had escaped from hell. A HUMANITARIAN MISSION American involvement in Somalia came about
Members of Task Force Rangers carry Durant to the back of a C-141 transport plane which would take him to Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany. courtesy Photos
BACK TO AMERICA Given the severity of his wounds and injuries, Durant’s rehabilitation took a long time, but he still dreamed of flying again.
during the last days of the Bush Administration, in December of 1992. The country had descended into lawless chaos, which combined with famine meant that tens of thousands were dying of starvation. Because competing warlords were preventing food and humanitarian assistance from getting to the starving people, American military forces embarked upon Operation Restore Hope to secure food distri-
bution points and routes. The mission evolved during 1993, as forces from the U.S. and elsewhere were inevitably drawn into the internecine fighting. The Clinton administration significantly increased the American military presence in Somalia and eventually the Americans were seen as opponents to Aidid, the most prominent warlord. Food distribution was threatened and both sides took casualties. Eventu-
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A big thumbs up from Durant as he is readied for his departure out of Somalia, accompanied on the flight by these two nurses.
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ally a major mission was planned for October 3 to capture Aidid and his top lieutenants. While many of the targeted individuals were indeed captured, the mission was disrupted when a Black Hawk helicopter was shot down by a rocket propelled grenade. Later, Durant’s helicopter was also shot down. The battle resulted in 18 American deaths, with 80 wounded. Estimates of Somali casualties range from 1,500 to 3,000.
He was told that the prospect of rejoining the Night Stalkers in a flight status was doubtful, but he persevered. In 1995 he ran the Marine Corps Marathon to prove his fitness and eventually he did again fly Black Hawks. In 2001 Durant retired from the Army and married Lisa desRoches, the widow of a helicopter pilot who was killed on a training mission. The two have worked together to raise six children. They live in Huntsville, Alabama, where Mike runs his own company, Pinnacle Solutions, an engineering and training services business that develops flight simulators and the like. Durant received the “2013 Vetrepreneur Award� for his company’s efforts on behalf of veterans. Pinnacle Solutions has grown steadily and now employs