CWO David Ritchie (Former 3/75)

[centermass]

Chief Warrant Officer David Ritchie stared at the wall in the helicopter hanger at Longhorn Helicopters in Denton, standing at attention, devoid of emotion, as his former commanding officer, Col. Stuart McRae, pinned the Legion of Merit medal above his left pocket.

“For exceptionally meritorious service culminating a distinguished 23-year military career as the Battalion Standardization Officer,” read McRae before pinning the star-shaped medal with 12 stars in the center of the decorative piece. “[His] actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military service.” The Legion of Merit is typically awarded to general officers and colonels. Most members of the military don’t receive it upon retiring. But Ritchie isn’t most people. He’s a former Army Ranger who was part of the operation that later inspired the movie Black Hawk Down, and he’s managed 12 combat aircrews, earned 800 combat hours, deployed numerous times in support of combat operations and led more than 500 direct action air assault missions.

For the last two years, Ritchie served as chief flight instructor of the Army’s flight school in Fort Rucker, Alabama. He recently retired and accepted a job as a flight instructor at Longhorn Helicopters in Denton. But between 2003 and 2012, Ritchie said he flew about 12 to 15 missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, “transporting soldiers and saving lives.” He figures he’s earned more than 30 awards, but he doesn’t keep count.

The one medal he does mention receiving was his Purple Heart for his actions during the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993. He was briefly mentioned in Mark Bowden’s book, Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, about the events that transpired in the ruins of Mogadishu, Somalia, but his character did not appear in the film adaptation.

“It was semi-organized chaos,” said Ritchie, flashing back to that day when all hell broke loose in the streets of the once-picturesque African port. “I thought about it while watching the movie, but I don’t really think about it. I mean, I miss friends and stuff like that. But I don’t miss that.”

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[Jim]

He has been doing something right. Normally that is a CW5 slot. Only 23 years of service, he did something right in the 160th SOAR. RLTW!

[tracer112]

Damn nice to hear about folks from the past and them doing well.