The Americans were in Mogadishu, Somalia, attempting to protect the distribution of relief supplies in a country ruled by strongmen and rife with corruption. As strongmen loyalists launched hit-and-run attacks on soldiers on peaceful operations, protection soon turned to an offensive campaign: the U.S. staged a raid on a hotel where the loyalist leaders were meeting. That was the start of a disastrous set of missions culminating in the shootdowns of two U.S. helicopters and an urban battle to rescue their crew that left eighteen soldiers and pilots killed, along with hundreds if not thousands of Somali militia.

On this day, March 25, in 1994, after the Pyrrhic victory and the media crucifixion the Somali campaign received in the press, the U.S. completed a negotiated pullout from the region. Defense Secretary Les Aspin took blame for the high casualties of the battle (he refused the Marine rescuers heavy-armor vehicles), and resigned.

Director Ridley Scott dramatized the events in Mogadishu in his movie Black Hawk Down. Even if the drama was a little overwrought, he had the basic facts all correct. The movie, released in 2001, garnered much praise for its authenticity and steadfast refusal to moralize.