From his West Palm Beach home, Matt Eversmann reflects on the Battle of Mogadishu.
“I was very blessed that I was awarded the Bronze Star medal with the valor device and that was for the actions on October 23rd,” said Eversmann.
Eversmann was in charge of 14 Army Rangers, aiming to help capture two of Somalia military commander Mohammed Adid’s top lieutenants.
What was supposed to be a quick mission backfired. “Everything that could go wrong went wrong,” Eversmann said.
His group took heavy gunfire, and something happened the world would see played over and over again: an Army Black Hawk helicopter was shot down.
The news was relayed to Eversmann by a fellow Army Ranger.
“Turned right to me and said, ‘Sergeant Eversmann, a Black Hawk just crashed.’ And I was like, ‘you’re kidding me.’ It was just so unbelievable,” said Eversmann.
“There were several of those moments for me throughout that battle where you just let your mind go for a second and you have to put your hands on your knees to stop them from knocking because you think that they’re done,” said Eversmann.
Reality met Hollywood when star actor Josh Hartnett portrayed Eversman in the hit movie Black Hawk Down.
Eversmann said Black Hawk Down’s directors did a great job making the battle scenes authentic.
“It’s, I mean it’s that’s ugly, it’s that chaotic, it’s that graphic,” said Eversmann.
That was then, this is now.
Eversmann and his family live in West Palm Beach.
He’s written a book, so has his wife.
Veterans Day means something special to them. “It’s a special day, it’s the one day that we can punctuate all that is good in America,” said Eversmann.
