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Article: Somalia Hearing Examines Rejected Request for Armor; Senate Panel Revisits Ill-Fated Mogadishu Mission
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- May 13, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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The two senior U.S. generals who led the ill-fated mission in
Somalia last year gave unusually frank accounts yesterday of their
rejected requests for armored reinforcement. But the generals gave a
mixed account of whether the added combat punch could have saved
lives in a costly battle Oct. 3 and 4.
Families of some of those who died, who also testified in
yesterday's Senate hearing, were angrier and less ambiguous. James
H. Smith, whose son Cpl. James E. Smith died in Mogadishu, said his
son's unit had been "betrayed" by President Clinton and his death
"served no purpose." Larry E. Joyce, like Smith a Vietnam veteran,
said of his son Casey Joyce, "Mr. President, he did die in vain ...