The Journal of Lt. Larry A. Gill, USMC
Dear Dad
This letter is the complete text of my daily journal that I kept while ashore in Mogadishu.
The words alone will never convey the destruction or sad state of affairs that the past two
weeks have changed my life forever...
THURSDAY, 25 MARCH 1993
I went ashore by LCAC(Landing Craft Air Cushion) into the Mogadishu airport today. The humidity and heat were overwhelming and our Intel told us it was 110 degrees with 90% humidity. Every five minutes military transports, enormous in size, landed with relief supplies. We loaded 5 ton trucks that D Battery 3rd Battalion 11th Marines supplied to take us to their combat patrol bases located within the city; our first stop, Checkpoint(Ckpt) 77. Driving down the path was horrid. Tiny children lined the city streets yelling "Americo, Americo" and waving frantically. Not two minutes underway we pass through a mass grave site in what obviously use to be a beautiful city park. All the trees are skeletons and the Somali graves, which I would become oh too familiar with over the next tow weeks, were nothing more than mounds of dirt covering the corpse with a small stick stuck in one end for a "tombstone". The stench was of rotting flesh and garbage. What is so amazing is that this city was built by the Italians and it is the exact replica of a Mediterranean coastal city. Enormous buildings and houses as far as the eye can see yet none have roofs or windows or four complete walls. Imagine a large American city completely destroyed by bombing...no structure had less than 10 bullet holes in it. We kept driving, the next intersection was littered with bullet ridden vehicles, the traffic light hung on the ground and all the telephone wires were like tinsel on a Christmas tree. This intersection is know to UNITAF FORCES as K-4...the most dangerous spot in the city and the sight where the first American MARINE was killed. By the way, my friend Lt. Woltjen was leading that patrol in January and he describe the dark intersection and the enemy rounds striking the ground at his feet. After launching 6 high explosive M203 grenade rounds at the building and about 300 rifle rounds he was able to break contact and get to the next alley. After taking a head count he realized that Lcpl Arroyo, 19 yrs old, was missing. He called the gunfire and his missing man into Marine Force Headquarters at the airport 1/2 mile away. They immediately sent two AAV's loaded with Marines to K-4. They rolled in and completely leveled the two buildings where the enemy had come form. Since it was midnight and very dark Lt. Woltjen's Marines got on line to search the intersection fro Arrroyo. Lt Woltjen found him by the downed traffic light. He had gotten off 17 rounds from his M-16 before he was struck in the arm. It appears he crawled a few meters before he was shot in the head. The round went right through his helmet and shattered his skull in 30 places before exiting the other side of his head. I'm sure the government left out the details and told his mother that he didn't feel a thing...at any rate that is K-4. When we pulled into Ckpt 77, approx. 1 1/2 miles from K-4 it was amazing. It use to be a 7 story bank but concertina wire, huge bunkers and completely sandbagged windows were everywhere. Marines were at posts with loaded rifles, flack jackets, helmets and various other types of weapons (shotguns, grenades...). The Somali people were wandering about through the intersection keeping a safe distance from the marines. The children, of which there were about 100, sat on the corners and laughed and tried to converse with the Marines. It was apparent to me that we were animals in a zoo and the Somalis were amazed at every move we made. If you snapped your fingers children would pour out of the woodworks and attempt to imitate you. The most incredible aspect was the fact that two huge loudspeakers were blasting Guns and Roses. The Marines claimed it was used for PSYOPS (Psychological Operations) to keep the Somali zoo-goers at bay but it was obvious it was more for the troops who had to stand six hours shifts at the posts remaining 100% alert at all times. It was comical and exactly like a scene out of a movie. The first night I drew the 0115 patrol. We were to leave the compound on foot, move three blocks to "Monument" (a one time large marble monument in the middle of Mogadishu), then head north until we reached the Italian Sector and return. We left along the "Green Line". This road is the historic dividing line that separated Gen. Addid's forces and Gen. Mahdi's forces during the civil war. We moved silently, the point man had night vision goggles and navigated us through the rubble. It was extremely quiet and at one point a Somali in a second story window lit a cigarette. Fearing the signal for an ambush, the Sergeant that was showing us "new guys" the ropes and had been there since December, moved the patrol out quickly. It was an extremely unusual only carry pistols but since we had to go out on patrols Gen. Johnstson recommended we also carry M-16's, I'm glad I did...I felt much safer walking through the city streets knowing I had 180 rounds I could fire in a seconds notice. When we returned I was soaking with sweat...our gear weighs about 50 lbs and it only becomes more humid at night...It was a routine I would repeat thousands of times in the days to come, pour sweat on a patrol, return, drink three liters of water (bottled water from Israel). Oh yea, earlier in the afternoon our Doc was shot in the neck from something of a small caliber. He was taking a Somali to the Hospital who had been shot in both arms by a 25cal and Doc was riding in the back of the HUMMWV. When he got hit it was just a graze but he fell out of the back of the moving Hummer and broke his arm...What luck huh?
FRI 26 MARCH
I woke at 0730 to the sounds of Van Halen blasting through the streets of Somalia. The wind off the ocean had died and it was very humid. At 0900 Lt. Philip Reeson took the officers on a patrol to the "Hamar Waane Market". WORDS WILL NEVER EVER DESCRIBE THE SCENE I'M ABOUT TO DESCRIBE!!! We took back alleys through the area where a lot of people live and I don't ever recall being that hot or that close to nausea. Families were selling raw camel and goat meat with flies all over it while they sat in swamps of urine. Naked babies were sitting on urine saturated dirt and human feces and garbage littered the alleyways. Keep in mind that these people only eight years ago shared the same luxuries that we do in American cities...I don't know if we could adapt the way these people had. The market stunk of garbage and rotting food. A camel was slaughtered in the middle of the dirty street while his butcher stood in a river of blood in bare and twisted feet. After our return I peeled off my clothes once again. At 1400 (2 pm) I went to tour the old Christina cathedral 200 meters from 77. I have befriended a young boy names Hasan. He is 17 but looks more like 13. He is very handsome and extremely intelligent. He speaks very little English but we communicate without words. He told me his mother and father had both been shot to death by thieves after their return from Saudi Arabia. I assume his family was very affluent once. He entered the church with and I was amazed at the sight...all the infra-structure of the church was standing but there was a carpet of rubble and stained glass, there were no pews, no innards of any kind and the crosses had all been burned off the wall. It was horrible! A beautiful marble alter lay in ruin at the top of the dais. Above the Alter in an archway was a depiction of Christ on the cross with all the apostles gathered at the base and the HEAD of Christ had been shot clear off by Addid's gunmen. Written all over the church was "Down with Christians". The beautiful irony of the whole scene, however, was that the whole roof was gone and the clouds were flying past the stone arches that once held it up. It was the most tranquil moment I've had since entering this country. All the while Hasan walked with me and we spoke of America and the dream he had someday of escaping this place If I could take him with me. Our patrol that evening was three klicks (Kilometers) and there was sporadic gunfire off our right flank at one point. The nighttime patrols are haunting and the many people during the day recede into bombed out slums at night. The patrol did not end soon enough.
SUN 28 MARCH
We received we were moving to checkpoint 50 today. I said good-bye to all the people at 77 today and I bought two hats from Hasan. I also gave him my Lieutenant's bar that I wear on my flack jacket and he says "Now I am Boss Man". We left on a foot patrol through the worst section of that sector and tensions were high. It was of course a nighttime patrol. Gunfire again, off to our right flank while we were crossing an open lot. Everybody took cover and looked for muzzle flashes that would show us where it was coming from. No one was hit and there was no sign of the gunman so the patrol moved off quickly. Checkpoint 50 is a shithole! This is the most violent area of town because it lies right on the Green Line and Addid's clan lives on the left of the three story hotel that is Ckpt 50 while Mahdi's clan lives on our right. The hotel we have occupied only has potential because about 10,000 sandbags filled all the holes in the walls from RPG rounds, Tanks and Artillery. This post plays Heavy Metal Music all the time and they play it LOUD, way louder than 77. Lt. Woltjen is the OIC of 50. We went to TBS together and he lived with my friend Joe Woodward. He told me that an Army Colonel from a Checkpoint 2 klicks away came and complained about the loud obnoxious music but Lt. Woltjen just turned it up louder after he left...we never say the Colonel again.
MONDAY 29 MARCH
Awoke to Van Halen "Eruption" today. I went out with the 0730 patrol. I'm picking
up a lot of the Somali language now:
Iska Warran=How are you
Seiko=Get back (go away)
Monjo=Food
noun + Mahayo=I don't have any (noun)
Waa Curu Bethenthy=You are beautiful
Mahadsanid=Thank you
Salam Alekum=Muslim greeting (may Allah go with you)
Waa Alekum Salam=Response to above
Biyo=water
Subah Wanaxun=Good Morning
Galab Wanaxun=Good Afternoon
Habeen Wanaxun=Good Night (evening)
Wa Feeana Hi=Response to How are you?...I Am fine
I made the mistake of saying "Iska Warran" to a bunch of kids and they started
screaming and following me while I have my weapon out looking for Somali gunmen.
An old man had to drive them away. A photographer followed us from CNN. 1100; Three shots
fired at our building but no one saw any point of origin. I went on the 2230(1030pm) patrol.
We got lost in the alleyways and ended up walking through a Somali graveyard. Probably
200 graves in all with most of the shallow mounds of dirt less than three feet in length.
Then my Sergeant calls a security halt so that he can reorient himself and it takes ten
minutes. I was sooo pissed. Pieces of aluminum siding are stacked all over and in the
wind they kept knocking against one another and scaring the hell out of us. Then the
Saudi's fired a huge burst of automatic fire one klick away and we can see the tracers
ricocheting into the sky. Overall this patrol sucked, very tense!
TUESDAY 30 MARCH
0600..we execute a take down of the Mogadishu National Theatre. It has already been raided once and they found RPG's, AK-47's etc. The platoon was in two Amtracks and rolled south at 45 miles per hour as the sun rose to our left. We established a three direction blocking pattern with 3rd squad behind a row of squatter buildings to the west to catch anyone fleeing in that direction. 1st squad, Sergeant McNamara (my youngest and most inexperienced squad leader) was in the alley to the north and the two AAV's covered the intersection to the south and east. 2nd squad, Sgt Gerrante (my most reliable yet most volatile squad leader), searched and cleared from bottom to top while myself and my two radio operators followed them in last. Nothing was found so they searched the next row of buildings. We entered the village next to the theatre through a hole in a wall (RPG hole to be exact). It was covered with a refrigerator and when I gave the signal to go in Lcpl Soto (our tough guy) Kicks down the refrigerator and the rest pour through the hole in the wall. The people were scared to death! 0615 in the morning and Marines are suddenly kicking in their doors looking through everything they own for weapons. Only two rifles were found but it was an awesome mission and I was very proud of how my platoon performed. 0900; Did my first wash by hand and took my first "military" shower since I came ashore 7 days ago...It felt soooo good!!
WEDNESDAY 31 MARCH
Myself and Todd Polderman (my buddy) went to a Food Site today to aid in the Security...What a mistake! Food site 23 feeds about 200 families from the same clan. The men were very orderly and lined up on one side of the road waiting to enter the double concertina wire perimeter the Marines, NGO's (non government organization i.e.: ICRC, CARE) and the newly formed Somali police had set up. The women were completely roped in with razor wire on both sides of their line but it didn't hold them. A great fight broke out before the convoy carrying the corn even arrived. One woman had cut in line and the other punched her right in the face. They exchanged punches like men. The other women were pushing and shoving others into the concertina wire. I saw the NGO's go through at least three sticks apiece because they kept breaking them on peoples heads. This society baffles me. The men beat the hell out of the women and the women carry huge five gallon drums of water on their back with bales of whatever while the men go do whatever they do in this jobless society. I've never seen women so ferocious with each other when it comes to protecting their family yet so dominated by the males of society. The two women were brought to the five ton truck and made to sit...we called it the penalty box. The police also caught a thief and he was beaten then brought to the five ton where the Marines taunted him until we told them to stop. He ended up crying by the time this one Lcpl from New York got through screaming at him like he was in boot camp and the thief couldn't have been more than 17. On the first passing the women were beaten the whole time and they constantly surged into the wire we had set up to protect the people handing out the corn meal. The whole scene was exactly like waiting in line at a rock concert. Little girls were crying from the beating the Somali men had given them but they respected nothing less than the stick...they knew we could not shoot or hit them so it was up to the Somali police and NGO's to keep order. The women are beautiful here with dark skin but white features. They have beautiful teeth for the most part and they love American men because we are not use to this society and we treat them special and try to protect them...this is something that Muslim women are not used to and every one of them wants to marry us...oh well!! I was so tired afterwards that I didn't go on any patrols the rest of the day.
THURSDAY 01 APRIL
I went on a long patrol this morning. About three klicks in 100 degree+ heat. We set up a mobile checkpoint in a Market are and found one pistol, one AK-47 and various knives. We searched vehicles, people etc. No gunfire on this Patrol (the first). 1930(730pm); Automatic fire bursts, 150 meters away from our position. We launch three M203 Illumination rounds and light up the whole area but we can see no gunmen. It was very close and many thought the rounds had struck the building. I played with the children for about two hours out in front of our perimeter. I gave out three oranges, one pack of M&M's and a bottle of water. I also but a bandaid on a small boys leg where a festering wound had formed. The young children flock to me and the troops call me Lieutenant Gill "The Pied Piper of Ckpt 50". Most of my Marines just wan to kill somebody and test their manhood...they are so young for the most part and they don't feel the slightest bit of sym0pathy for these people. I don't for the adults, they did this to their country and they still support opposite factions but the children are the true victims in this war...most of the children do not remember what it was like to have a roof or running water but they are cheerful, playful and full of life... they love the Americans because we represent stability.
SATURDAY/SUNDAY 3-4 APRIL
For the past three days we've been told we were going back aboard ship. As a result I've been spending a lot more time with the children. 3 girls; Muna, Sim-Sim, and Jaqueline (Jock-a-leen) have become my favorites. Muna is 10 but looks like 7 because she is so small. She likes to mimic me at every turn. She is the most fun to play with. Sim-Sim is 11; she is beautiful and very quietly playful. She is shy except when her and I are alone then she uses her hands to patiently teach me Somali vocabulary. She would be a model when she grew up if I could be assured she would grow up at all...She usually just sits below the Amtrack parked menacingly outside the perimeter in the intersection and watches me but when I acknowledge her stare she waves and flashes a beaming smile. Her and I can truly communicate without words and I adore her. Jaqueline is a total brat. She is obnoxious and a real tomboy. She is also beautiful but she likes to test out how well my flack jacket and helmet really work. Jaqueline is obviously the leader of the three and she doesn't like it when I have to go. She pretends she is mad at me. throws her elbow in a sweeping motion across her face and storms away. When she sees me hours later, however, she runs to the wire yelling "Geal, Geal". One boy named Abdi is also very friendly and he wants to teach me to become a Muslim so that we can really be friends...(you know how Muslims are). Tonight I told Sim-Sim and Muna that I would meet them at nightfall at the wire to give them food and "Chockolatay". I'm not sure they understood. They did not show so I told two Marines to cover me while I went outside the wire to look for their house. After calling their names and two alleys later I finally found them playing in the dark outside their house. Their mother saw me first and they all screamed. Somalis never see Marines outside the perimeter at night unless they are on a patrol. I had a bag of candy, however, and some bread and fruit. It was like Christmas for them and they were dancing around. I think it was the best feeling I ever had. I ran back to the perimeter before I got shot and the Marines said, "It wasn't too smart Sir to go past our sight, we were worried and were about to call the Reac Force to go out and find you". They were right and they tactfully let me know it! I said many prayers for them and I spent a very serene 2 hours walking around the inside of the perimeter thinking how much I'm going the miss this place. POST NOTE, NOT FROM THE DIARY: I notice as I transcribe my scribbled pages how much I've grown to love this country...I love the weather, the people and their wonderful attitude that they are lucky to be alive at all...somewhere along the way I've realized that the American people totally take advantage of what we have...I hate our society and I feel like I will never again be able to relate to the whining and whimpering masses! We don't know how well we have it!!!
MONDAY 5 APRIL
Today was our last day in Mogadishu. I played all day with Jaqueline, Muna and Sim-Sim. Their mother wrote me a note asking for food and Muna gave it to me. I told them when the sun went down to meet me at the wire. One of our interpreters came with me and it was the first time we were able to speak and really understand each other. Jaqueline was mad at me earlier because I scared her when I ran after her so I apologized and she said she was also sorry. Muna and Sim-Sim were shy but they said they were going to miss me and they didn't want me to go. It almost broke my heart so I just told them to meet me by the AAV in the intersection. I walked to their house with them. All three held my hand at the same time. When we got there I said good-bye. It was very emotional for all of us. They Hugged me and kissed my hand, something Muslims never do! They started to get teary eyed an I almost did myself. Then I walked back to Ckpt 50 for the last time...
TUESDAY 6 APRIL
I got back on ship today. It sucks. I miss the Kids more than I could have thought possible. I think of the girls constantly. I've been irritable all day and the troops have avoided talking to me. All together it's been a trying day. I would stay in Somalia forever if I could just watch the girls grow up...I hope they do...
I don't know what our upcoming schedule is but we are
supposed to remain off the coast until we go to Kuwait in June...I will call as soon
as possible...
Semper Fidelis,
Lieutenant Larry A. Gill USMC
Back to Other Eras - Back to Marine Stories Page - Back to Scuttlebutt Menu