Sgt. First Class Robert Deeks was attached to the 562 Green Beret unit as a combat medic in 1990’s. When Sgt. Deeks and his unit arrived in Somalia they were assigned to patrol the Somalia’s disputed border with Ethiopia. The two countries had fought a savage, decade-long war and had only a line in the sand border to show for the bloodshed. On March 3, 1993 Sgt. Deeks was driving one of his team’s soft-top Humvees, following behind another vehicle. His left wheel drove right over a buried land mine, so his body took the full force of the blast. When his teammates saw his bloody, mangled body they thought he was dead, so they began giving first aid to the other wound men, one whom had his back broken in the blast. Sgt. Deeks had been the team’s only medic so the others treated the wounded to the best of their training.


As the men worked quickly to stabilize the wounded, one of them saw Deeks move. His face was covered in blood. The land mine had ripped his legs off and he lost one hand and an eye. But Sgt. Deeks was able to regain consciousness and began to instruct his follow soldiers on what first aid to give to the other wounded and him. He was a medic and his job was to save lives at all cost. The team frantically tried to contract Beledweyne, where the medical evacuation unit of the Canadian airborne was located. But their main radio was in Sgt. Deeks Humvee and was destroyed in the blast. But they finally got the backup radio working. After an hour and a half the helicopter arrived. As it lifted off with Deeks in the bay, he lost consciousness. He done all he could do for his teammates. He died as the copter landed about thirty minutes later.

No U.S. Army Special Forces soldier talks about Somalia with out mentioning Bobby Deeks. The Special Forces language lab located in Fort Campbell is named after him. And Fort Campbell’s simple memorial park where a tree is planted for each Special Forces soldier who has died in action or on a training exercise, there is a tree with a plaque for Bobby Deeks.

Deeks was just one of the 45 U.S. soldiers killed in Somalia. 18 were killed in the 15 hour gun battle known as “Black Hawk Down”.

PFC Matt Anderson
Rocket propelled grenade
September 25, 1993

MPFC Domingo Arroyo
First casualty
January 12, 1993

SSgt. Brian P. Barnes
Jockey 14 crash
March 14, 1994, Kenya

LCPL Anthony Botello
Sniper fire
January 25, 1993

CWO Donovan Briley
Battle of Mogadishu
October 3-4, 1993

SSGT. Daniel Busch
Battle of Mogadishu
October 3-4, 1993

SPEC. James Cavaco
Battle of Mogadishu
October 3-4, 1993

SSGT. William Cleveland, Jr.
Battle of Mogadishu
October 3-4, 1993

PV2 David Conner
February 8, 1993

TSgt. Robert L. Daniel
Jockey 14 crash
March 14, 1994, Kenya

SFC Robert H. Deeks Jr
March 3, 1993

MSgt. Roy S. Duncan
Jockey 14 crash
March 14, 1994, Kenya

SSgt William C. Eyler
Jockey 14 crash
March 14, 1994; Kenya

SSGT. Thomas Field
Battle of Mogadishu
October 3-4,

1993 SFC Earl Fillmore
Battle of Mogadishu
October 3-4, 1993

CWO Raymond Frank
Battle of Mogadishu
October 3-4, 1993

Lawrence L. Freeman
Battle of Mogadishu
October 3-4, 1993

MSG Gary L. Gordon
Battle of Mogadishu
October 3-4, 1993
Medal of Honor recipient

Spec. Mark E. Gutting
Land mine
August 8, 1993

PV2 Daniel L. Harris
March 18, 1993 M

Sgt. Justin A. Harris
Helicopter crash-UN evacuation
February 20, 1995

Sgt. Christopher K. Hilgert
Land mine
August 8, 1993

SGT Cornell L. Houston
Battle of Mogadishu
October 3-4, 1993

SGT. James Casey Joyce
Battle of Mogadishu
October 3-4, 1993

PFC. Richard W. Kowalewski, Jr.
Battle of Mogadishu
October 3-4, 1993

PFC. James H. Martin, Jr.
Battle of Mogadishu
October 3-4, 1993

MSGT. Timothy L. "Griz" Martin
Battle of Mogadishu
October 3-4, 1993

Captain David J. Mehlhop
Jockey 14 crash
March 14, 1994; Kenya

SSgt. Mike E. Moser
Jockey 14 crash
March 14, 1994; Kenya

SPC Edward J. Nicholson
September 30, 1993

Spec. Keith D. Pearson
Land mine
August 8, 1993

LCPL Jesus Perez


SGT. Dominick M. Pilla
Battle of Mogadishu
October 3-4, 1993

Captain Mark A. Quam
Jockey 14 crash
March 14, 1994; Kenya

SGT Ferdinan C. Richardson
Rocket propelled grenade
September 25, 1993

Sgt. Ronald N. Richerson
Land mine
August 8, 1993

SFCls Matthew Loren Rierson
Battle of Mogadishu
October 3-4, 1993

PV2 Don D. Robertson
March 2, 1993

LCPL William A. Rose
B Co 1Bn
March 7, 1993

SGT. Lorenzo Ruiz
Battle of Mogadishu
October 3-4, 1993

SFC Randy Shughart
Battle of Mogadishu
October 3-4, 1993
Medal of Honor recipient

CPL. James E. Jamie Smith
Battle of Mogadishu
October 3-4, 1993

Captain Anthony R. Stefanik, Jr.
Jockey 14 crash
March 14, 1994; Kenya

SGT Eugene Williams
Rocket propelled grenade
September 25, 1993

CWO Clifton P. Cliff Wolcott
Battle of Mogadishu
October 3-4, 1993