MovieChat Forums > Black Hawk Down (2002) Discussion > 'Real Story' Bulls**t

'Real Story' Bulls**t

posted 8 years ago by Eric266
3 replies | jump to latest

This rant is not about the movie. It took liberties with the facts but was great entertainment.

My issue is with a recent documentary I watched called No Man Left Behind. The episode was about this mission and specifically, Michael Durant. They completely ignored the sacrifice and heroism of Randy Shughart and Gary Gordon who volunteered to be dropped into the area of the blackhawk, knowing it meant certain death. Durant never mentions them. The episode shows Durant's crash and then he's outside the helicopter. How did he get there with a broken back? Those men unselfishly gave their lives for a comrade and they dont get mentioned until a blurb in the credits.

[–] nickm2 8 years ago

I'm sure MNLB edited things that way; Durant has paid a lot of tribute to Shugart & Gordon both in speeches & in his own book about the incident.

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[–] CGSailor 8 years ago

Don't go blaming Durant.
Durant has given a LOT of tribute to Gordon and Shughart.

In fact, Towards the end of his book, "In the Company of Heroes"... Durant describes a moment he had in Gordon's hometown.

Durant was in Gordon's hometown for the dedication of a memorial in Gordon's honor. Witha couple of hiurs to kill before the ceremony, Durant goes into the small town Library, and looks up a book about those who have been awarded the Medal of Honor.

He notices that the book had not been checked out in over 20 years. The last name on the index card to have checked out the book was a teenaged Gary Gordon, The nation's most recent recipient.

If the documentary failed to mention them, blame the documentary. Don't go blaming Durant.

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[–] Eric266 8 years ago

Perhaps my annoyance was misplaced with Durant. I, too, have read his book and know he recognizes the sacrifice of Shughart and Gordon. I was just extremely disappointed at how the show completely glossed over the heroism of those two men. The show's creators went out of their way to ignore the role of these two in attempting to rescue Durant. That was offensive to me. I'm sure Durant had no say in the production of the show so its not his fault.

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