October 3, 1993: The Battle of Mogadishu

 

October 3, 1993: The Battle of Mogadishu is fought in Somalia. The United Nations was engaged to provide food aid during a famine in Somalia the year before. President George H.W. Bush sent U.S. troops, including Army Rangers, to assist. His successor, Bill Clinton, continued the policy.

But Mohamed Farrah Aidid, warlord of the insurgents trying to bring down the Somali government, refused to cooperate. His forces shot down 2 U.S. Black Hawk helicopters, and took 1 dead Ranger, stripped him, dragged him through a dusty street, and captured it all on video.

Rangers were sent in for a rescue, and all troops, dead and alive, were gotten out. When it was over, there were 19 Americans dead and 73 others wounded. It was America's biggest combat loss day since the Vietnam War, over 20 years earlier. It is not known how many Somalis were killed, or how many of them were Aidid's men and how many were innocent civilians, but the lowest estimate is over 200.

Like the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, 25 years earlier, the Battle of Mogadishu was, for America, a tactical victory, but a public relations nightmare. Fear of a repeat situation led Clinton to begin to pull troops back from Somalia, and to refuse to intervene in an African conflict the next year, the Rwandan Genocide. Clinton would later call that the greatest regret of his Presidency.

Two snipers would be posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. The events would later be told in journalist Mark Bowden's book Black Hawk Down, made into a 2001 film by Ridley Scott, which was nominated for 4 Academy Awards, winning 2, for Best Film Editing and Best Sound. But it was also ripped for its factual inaccuracies and its racist portrayal of the Somalis, designed to make the Americans involved look better.

 

The UN gave up its pursuit of Aidid. In 1995, he declared himself President of Somalia. On August 1, 1996, he was killed in a firefight with a rival group. He was 61 years old. After decades of strife, a peace and a new constitution were reached in 2012. In 2022, Somalia is a stable republic of 17 million people.

*

October 3, 1993 was a Sunday. These Major League Baseball games were played that day:

* The Atlanta Braves, who will be moved over to the National League Eastern Division the next season, beat the Colorado Rockies, 5-3 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, to clinch the NL Western Division title. Tom Glaine went 6 2/3rds innings, to finish 22-6 on the season. David Justice hit his 40th home run. It is their 104th win, to complete an amazing comeback, having been 10 games back on July 22 and 7 1/2 games back on August 22, before winning 22 of their last 27. (The Rockies did decently for an expansion team, going 67-95.)

* Despite winning 103 games, the San Francisco Giants are eliminated from the NL West race when their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, derail their Division dreams, 12-1 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. (Not that this counts as the Dodgers' revenge for October 3, 1951, or even October 3, 1962.) Catcher Mike Piazza, who will be named the NL's Rookie of the Year, hits 2 home runs in the game. Barry Bonds, the season's big free-agent signing, went 0-for-4. The Giants won 103 games, and still didn't make the postseason.

This was the last pre-Wild Card Pennant race in Major League Baseball. I have a separate entry for that.

* The New York Yankees beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-1 at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees only got 4 hits, a single and a double by Pat Kelly, and RBI singles from Bernie Williams and Mike Stanley. David Wells started -- for the Tigers. Bobby Muñoz was the winning pitcher for the Yankees, in relief of Domingo Jean.

* The Cleveland Indians play their last game at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, with Mel Harder, who won the 1st game there in 1932, throwing out a ceremonial last pitch. No such luck for the Tribe this time, as they lose 4-0 to the Chicago White Sox. Jason Bere (7 innings) and 2 relievers complete a 6-hit shutout.

* And the last game is played at Arlington Stadium, in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas, with Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers and George Brett of the Kansas City Royals, both retiring, exchanging the lineup cards. Neither gets into the game. Again, the visiting team spoils the fun, the Royals winning 4-1.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Boston Red Sox 6-3 at Fenway Park. Robin Yount of the Brewers plays the last game in his Hall of Fame career. He appears as a pinch-hitter in the 12th inning, and strikes out against Gary Bailey. Dave Nilsson singles home the winning run in the top of the 14th inning.

* The Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 11-6 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Joe Carter hit 2 home runs, Rickey Henderson went 0-for-1 with a walk before leaving the game, Roberto Alomar went 3-for-4 with a stolen base and 5 RBIs, and Paul Molitor went 1-for-4. The defending World Champions, again Champions of the American League Eastern Division, were clearly ready for another postseason. Cal Ripken went 1-for-4.

* The New York Mets beat the Florida Marlins, 9-2 at Joe Robbie Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Marlins went 64-98, not too bad for an expansion team. In contrast, the Mets played like an expansion team most of the season, briefly behind even their 1962 expansion pass of 120 losses, but won their last 5 to finish 59-103. Ryan Thompson and Chico Walker hit home runs for them. Dwight Gooden appeared as a pinch-hitter, and hit an RBI triple.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-1 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Houston Astros, 7-4 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Seattle Mariners, 7-2 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-0 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. It took 5 Card pitchers to finish a 7-hit shutout. But the Phillies had won the NL Eastern Division title, and would upset the Braves in the NL Championship Series, giving the team nicknamed "Macho Row" -- or, as broadcaster Harry Kalas called them, "this wacky, wonderful bunch of throwbacks" -- the Pennant. The Blue Jays beat the Phils in the World Series, in 6 games.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres, 4-1 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Tony Gwynn did not play.

* And the California Angels beat the Oakland Athletics, 7-3 at the Oakland Coliseum.

And these NFL games were played: 

* The New York Giants lost to the Buffalo Bills, 17-14 at Rich Stadium (later Ralph Wilson Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.

* The New York Jets lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, 35-30 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.

* The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Detroit Lions, 27-10 at Tampa Stadium.

* The Chicago Bears beat the Atlanta Falcons, 6-0 at Soldier Field in Chicago.

* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Raiders, 24-9 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Green Bay Packers, 36-14 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.

* The New Orleans Saints beat the Los Angeles Rams, 37-6 at the Superdome in New Orleans.

* The Denver Broncos beat the Indianapolis Colts, 35-13 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

* The San Francisco 49ers beat the Minnesota Vikings, 38-19 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

* The Seattle Seahawks beat the San Diego Chargers, 31-14 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

* The next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Miami Dolphins beat the Washington Redskins, 17-10 at Joe Robbie Stadium.

* And the Cincinnati Bengals, the Cleveland Browns, the Houston Oilers, the New England Patriots, the Phoenix Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers had a bye week.