MOG Mile links Mogadishu, Ranger history at Lake Garda
When William, a former U.S. Army Ranger studying in Bologna, saw that a Mogadishu Mile was being held in a small Italian town on Lake Garda, his first reaction was curiosity.
“What did this little Italian town have to do with Ranger Regiment or Mogadishu?” he recalled thinking.
On Sunday, he found his answer.
William, who served with 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, joined five others for Torbole’s first MOG Mile, a one-mile commemorative run remembering the U.S. service members who lost their lives as a result of the Battle of Mogadishu on Oct. 3-4, 1993.
The group gathered at the monument to Brig. Gen. William O. Darby, founder of the U.S. Army Rangers, who was killed by German artillery in Torbole on April 30, 1945.
Before the run, Ben Appleby, president of the Association Benàch, welcomed the participants and spoke briefly about the significance of the day. William then had the honor of reading aloud the names of the 19 U.S. service members who lost their lives as a result of the battle in Somalia.
William had learned about the Torbole event through an email from the Three Rangers Foundation and invited two fellow U.S. military veterans studying with him at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Bologna.
William is studying for a Master of International Public Policy. Diego, an Air Force veteran, is a Doctor of International Affairs student, while Jason, an Army veteran who served with the 11th Airborne Division, is studying for a Master of Arts in International Affairs.
Joel Ledenham and his son Pietro, Americans who live near Trento, also joined the group.
After the reading of the names, the six set off from Darby’s monument for a run along the shore of Lake Garda.
For Diego, taking part in the commemoration while living far from the United States made the occasion particularly meaningful.
“I appreciate knowing that an effort is being made to remember those who sacrificed everything, even here in Italy,” he said.
Starting and finishing at Darby’s monument also connected men who served in different generations and under very different circumstances, Diego said, but who shared “an incredible sense of duty.”
Torbole was one of only two locations outside the United States listed by the Three Rangers Foundation for this year’s MOG Mile events. The other was Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland — another place closely connected with Darby and the beginnings of the U.S. Army Rangers.
The idea of bringing the MOG Mile to Torbole followed the visit this summer of Jeff Struecker, a former 75th Ranger Regiment soldier and veteran of the Battle of Mogadishu.
Struecker came to Torbole to be interviewed for “With Love, Billy,” the documentary currently in production about the life and legacy of William O. Darby. His visit and his connection to Mogadishu encouraged the Association to bring the MOG Mile initiative to Torbole for the first time.
The run was only one part of the day.
For William, Diego and Jason, it was also their first visit to Lake Garda. Following the MOG Mile, the Association accompanied the group around Torbole to discover some of the town’s military history.
They visited the place where Darby was killed on April 30, 1945, Torbole’s wartime air raid shelter and surviving World War I and World War II defensive positions.
The group also stopped at the memorial to the 25 soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division who died when the DUKW amphibious vehicle carrying them sank in Lake Garda on the night of April 30, 1945.
For Jason, it was his first opportunity to participate in a Mogadishu Mile, despite having served on active duty.
“The mile, combined with the remembrance of the 10th Mountain soldiers who died within days of the end of the war in Italy and in Europe, was a unique experience that I will never forget,” he said.
The day concluded at the Association Benàch Welcome Centre, where gifts were exchanged, and the group watched “The Lost Mountaineers,” our documentary telling the story of the Lake Garda DUKW disaster and the men who were lost.
For William, the connection between Mogadishu and the small Italian town that had initially puzzled him had become much clearer.
Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division’s 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, were part of the quick reaction force sent to assist Task Force Ranger during the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993. Almost half a century earlier, Rangers and the 10th Mountain Division had also crossed paths here in Torbole, where Darby was serving as assistant division commander of the 10th Mountain Division when he was killed.
“The Mogadishu Mile commemorates another significant intersection of Rangers and the 10th Mountain Division, who fought together in Mogadishu nearly 50 years later,” William said. “So despite my initial surprise to learn about a Mog Mile event in Torbole, the town turned out to be a fitting location for it.”
Appleby said he is committed to bringing the MOG Mile back to Torbole next year and hopes more members of the U.S. military and Ranger community in Italy will take part.
Link to Three Rangers Foundation
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