On this date 30 years ago, two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down in Mogadishu, Somalia. It’s still one of the most recognizable battles of the past 30 years, in large part because of the book and movie based on it, “Black Hawk Down.”

But the role of so many with the 10th Mountain Division seems to have gotten lost in history.

“It's crazy to think that, you know, you think of the Task Force Ranger guys, the Seventh Ranger Regiment guys, but at the same time, the 2-14 Infantry and Task Force 2-14 played just as big a role in in the whole operation overall as the Rangers did,” 2-14 Company Commander Capt. Adam Yates said.

The story that’s almost never told — and is missing from the movie — is that of the Second Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, based at Fort Drum. That unit was called to Mogadishu in support of the Task Force Ranger unit, which had people in the city stranded.  

The 2-14 faced enemy fire the entire time, and when they got there, they had piled their vehicles with so many Ranger casualties that the 2-14 had to walk back on foot — under fire — for a full mile.

"The Mogadishu Mile" is a trek the 2-14 now recreates every year to honor those that did it 30 years ago.

“It means that we're here to honor the survivors and the people who are still suffering from the soldiers who lost their lives that day,” Yates said.  

The recreated mile has now become 2.14 miles to honor not only the mile-long walk, but the unit that makes it.