Today in U.S. military history: Blackhawks down in Mosul, and the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal

Unto the Breach ^ | 15 November 2019 | Chris Carter

[fugazi]

Today's post is in honor of the 17 soldiers killed when two UH-60L Blackhawk helicopters collided over Mosul, Iraq on this day in 2003. Lost were Chief Warrant Officer 2 Scott A. Saboe (33, of Willow Lake, S.D.), 2nd Lt. Jeremy L. Wolfe (27, of Wisconsin), Spc. Jeremiah J. DiGiovanni (21, of Tylertown, Miss.), Spc. Ryan T. Baker (24, of Brown Mills, N.J.), Spc. William D. Dusenbery (30, of Fairview Heights, Ill.), and Sgt. John W. Russell (26, of Portland Texas) with the 4th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment. Killed in the second helicopter: Warrant Officer 1 Erik C. Kesterson (29, of Independence, Ore.), Sgt. Warren S. Hansen (36, of Clintonville, Wis.) with 9th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment; Capt. Pierre E. Piche (29, of Starksboro, Vt.) and Spc. John R. Sullivan (26, of Countryside, Ill.) of the 626th Forward Support Battalion; Sgt. Michael D. Acklin II (25, of Louisville, Ky.), Pfc. Sheldon R. Hawk Eagle (21, of Grand Forks, N.D.), Pfc. Richard W. Hafer (21, of Cross Lanes, W.Va.), Spc. Eugene A. Uhl III (21, of Amherst, Wis.), and PFC Joey D. Whitener (19, of Nebo, N.C.) of the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery; Pfc. Damian L. Heidelberg (21, of Batesville, Miss.) assigned to 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment; amd Sgt. 1st Class Kelly Bolor (37, of Whittier, Calif.) of the U.S. Army Reserve's 137th Quartermaster Company.

[...]

1942: Just north of Guadalcanal, U.S. and Japanese warships engage in one of only two battleship-on-battleship engagements of the Pacific War. While Kirishima hammers USS South Dakota (BB-57) in the early morning hours, USS Washington (BB-56) slips away undetected and maneuvers to near point-blank range, raking the Japanese battleship with devastating salvos. Japanese naval guns and torpedoes send three U.S. destroyers (Walke, Preston, and Benham) to the bottom of Savo Sound, joining dozens of

[fugazi]

I seem to remember a movie about the 12-year-old sailor played by the kid who played "Newt" in LONESOME DOVE.

Hard to fathom a modern 12-year-old serving aboard a ship, but they didn't have YouTube and Minecraft back then.

[jmacusa]

The Battle of Iron Bottom Sound occurred on November 13-14,1942. The US Navy got mauled and badly. It was the engagement in which the U.S.S Juneau was sunk. With went the five Sullivan brothers, all were lost, poor guys.

[fugazi]

I am currently writing a piece on eight sets of brothers that were killed aboard USS Oklahoma during the Pearl Harbor attacks. In 1948, I believe, the government passed a sole survivor policy so a family couldn’t be completely wiped out as the Sullivan Family was.

[jmacusa]

Yes, the military instituted the ‘’sole survivor’’ rule after the tragedy of the Sullivans. What happened to the USS Arizona on December 7 could be said to have been merciful. Those poor guys never really knew what hit them. What happened to the Oklahoma was horrifying. The Oklahoma was to have a ship wide inspection that day for a visiting admiral so all the water tight doors were open through out the ship so the admirals party could move the ship.

When the attack came in the confusion and rush to battle
stations the doors weren’t secured. After some five torpedo hits the Oklahoma rolled over to starboard trapping hundreds of men below decks. God, how terrifying. Men were trapped in dark compartments while they were being flooded. Just horrifying.

[NEMDF]

Thank you for this post and remembering those who were lost.

[minnesota_bound]

Blackhawks down in Mosul and Benghazi have in common?
Democrat politicians like Clinton and obama.

[DuncanWaring]

Another account of the events of Guadalcanal:

https://www.vinsuprynowicz.com/?p=5876

[hanamizu]

Men were trapped in dark compartments while they were being flooded. Just horrifying.

---

I’ve read that some managed to live until right before Christmas. Would-be rescuers had no way to get to them.

[Midwesterner53]

Let’s not forget to give credit where credit is due, Clinton refused to mount a rescue effort for the surviving Americans in Black Hawk Down and the Pakistanis had to come save them after they had been on their own for hours.

[fugazi]

You’re welcome. I wanted to point out as a bit of a post-script that I came across a source that indicated one of the Blackhawks might have been hit by enemy fire, causing the crash. I didn’t have time to look into this though. Either way, it doesn’t diminish the sacrifice of the 17 soldiers that died 16 years ago.

[jmacusa]

Years ago I read a story by a man who served aboard The Oklahoma that morning. His name kind of escapes me, I think it twas Robert De Long. His battle station was in an aft compartment I believe as engine room personnel. When the Oklahoma had taken I believe five torpedo hits it rolled starboard and everything not bolted down came crashing down and up was down and worse yet the electrical systems were knocked out and below decks was a dark nightmare. In rolling as it did the Oklahoma, a steel vessel was twisted and wracked out of trim so hatch ways and bulkheads were unable to close or be secured and others were unable to be opened for the same reason. And the compartments were flooding. Men would drown in total darkness and panic. And yet nuking Hiroshima and Nagasaki were ''war crimes''.