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We Honor and Remember:
SGT Dominick M. Pilla
Hometown: Vineland, NJ. Died: October 3rd, 1993 in Mogadishu, Somalia, Operation Gothic Serpent. Unit: Company B, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Ft. Benning, Ga. Incident: Killed whilst attempting to rescue a fellow Ranger. Posthumously awarded the Bronze Star with Valor Device and Purple Heart and was subsequently awarded the Silver Star on October 1, 2021. Birth: Mar. 31, 1972 He served as a Sergeant in Company B, 3rd Battalion, of the 75th Ranger Regiment of the United States Army. He was killed in Mogadishu, Somalia, on October 3, 1993, with several others, including 5 others from his regiment, and over 1,000 Somalians, in the war to try and overthrow dictator, Mohammed Farah Aidid. Aidid was finally gunned down in 1996. The story was the basis for the 2001 film, "Black Hawk Down." Burial: Sacred Heart Cemetery Vineland, Cumberland County, New Jersey, USA. |
Sgt. Dominick M. Pilla, 21, of Vineland, N.J., assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in Fort Benning, had zest: No smoking, no drinking, vigilant against flab but a lover of fun.
"He was a real hell-raiser. He was a real card," said his mother, Diane Pilla. "He loved life."
His father, Ben Pilla, a Vietnam War veteran, gave the son big shoes to fill. That's why Dominick chose the elite Army Rangers, his family said. Still, Pilla figured when he got out, and it would be soon, he would angle for a job at the FBI, or the Drug Enforcement Administration.
"He always wanted to be special," said his older brother, Frank, 23. "He wanted to be one of the few, not one of the masses."
Dominick Pilla was with a convoy taking an injured soldier from the October 3 firefight to be treated. He was killed when the U.S. Humvees were ambushed. SGT Pilla was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal for valor.
It had become a tradition in a family that had sent sons off to war: After Sgt. Dominick M. Pilla, 21, deployed to Somalia with his Ranger company in August 1993, the family put together a package of pepperoni sticks and balls of provolone cheese. Dominick's father, Benjamin Pilla, had gotten such a package when he was serving in Vietnam. Frank Pilla, Dominick's brother, had gotten one while off the coast of Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War. Dominick Pilla's package was returned unopened to his parents' home in Vineland N.J. He had been killed before it reached him.
Dominick Pilla had heard his father's war stories and had seen the pictures he'd brought home from Vietnam. “I told him how people get killed and get wounded, lose arms or legs,” says his father. “It's not all glory. He knew that.” Regardless, Dominick Pilla decided as an adolescent that he wanted to join the Army and be a Ranger. He enlisted in the Delayed Entry Program while in high school, then took up a rigorous exercise and body-building program to prepare for Ranger training.
Benjamin Pilla and his wife, Diane, say Dominick Pilla had the cockiness of a quick study who excelled at his interests. For example, he liked riding Benjamin Pilla's 1,400cc Harley Davidson motorcycle, among the biggest made. “He took his motorcycle test on it and passed,” Benjamin Pilla says. “Most guys fail the first time on the big bike. He was a natural.” The bike sat for months after October 3. “I couldn't ride that thing all winter,” Benjamin Pilla says. “I just let it sit there because it reminded me of him too much. The last letter I got from him from Somalia, he said when he comes back, he was going to buy one so we could go riding together.”
Dominick Pilla and his father had a long talk in June 1993, during Dominick's last leave before deploying to Somalia. “He said, `I realize what we do, I could get killed or wounded. I just hope it's not Somalia or Bosnia.' He knew the futility of it,” says Benjamin Pilla.
Dominick Pilla was with a convoy taking an injured soldier from the October 3 firefight to be treated. He was killed when the U.S. Humvees were ambushed. Dominick Pilla was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal for valor.
“He was always a good, decent kid,” says Benjamin Pilla. “Never in trouble, had good respect for law and for authority. Never gave me any trouble at all. “That's the kind that die, unfortunately.”
"He was a real hell-raiser. He was a real card," said his mother, Diane Pilla. "He loved life."
His father, Ben Pilla, a Vietnam War veteran, gave the son big shoes to fill. That's why Dominick chose the elite Army Rangers, his family said. Still, Pilla figured when he got out, and it would be soon, he would angle for a job at the FBI, or the Drug Enforcement Administration.
"He always wanted to be special," said his older brother, Frank, 23. "He wanted to be one of the few, not one of the masses."
Dominick Pilla was with a convoy taking an injured soldier from the October 3 firefight to be treated. He was killed when the U.S. Humvees were ambushed. SGT Pilla was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal for valor.
It had become a tradition in a family that had sent sons off to war: After Sgt. Dominick M. Pilla, 21, deployed to Somalia with his Ranger company in August 1993, the family put together a package of pepperoni sticks and balls of provolone cheese. Dominick's father, Benjamin Pilla, had gotten such a package when he was serving in Vietnam. Frank Pilla, Dominick's brother, had gotten one while off the coast of Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War. Dominick Pilla's package was returned unopened to his parents' home in Vineland N.J. He had been killed before it reached him.
Dominick Pilla had heard his father's war stories and had seen the pictures he'd brought home from Vietnam. “I told him how people get killed and get wounded, lose arms or legs,” says his father. “It's not all glory. He knew that.” Regardless, Dominick Pilla decided as an adolescent that he wanted to join the Army and be a Ranger. He enlisted in the Delayed Entry Program while in high school, then took up a rigorous exercise and body-building program to prepare for Ranger training.
Benjamin Pilla and his wife, Diane, say Dominick Pilla had the cockiness of a quick study who excelled at his interests. For example, he liked riding Benjamin Pilla's 1,400cc Harley Davidson motorcycle, among the biggest made. “He took his motorcycle test on it and passed,” Benjamin Pilla says. “Most guys fail the first time on the big bike. He was a natural.” The bike sat for months after October 3. “I couldn't ride that thing all winter,” Benjamin Pilla says. “I just let it sit there because it reminded me of him too much. The last letter I got from him from Somalia, he said when he comes back, he was going to buy one so we could go riding together.”
Dominick Pilla and his father had a long talk in June 1993, during Dominick's last leave before deploying to Somalia. “He said, `I realize what we do, I could get killed or wounded. I just hope it's not Somalia or Bosnia.' He knew the futility of it,” says Benjamin Pilla.
Dominick Pilla was with a convoy taking an injured soldier from the October 3 firefight to be treated. He was killed when the U.S. Humvees were ambushed. Dominick Pilla was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal for valor.
“He was always a good, decent kid,” says Benjamin Pilla. “Never in trouble, had good respect for law and for authority. Never gave me any trouble at all. “That's the kind that die, unfortunately.”
18 SILVER STARS: RANGERS RECOGNIZED IN FORT BENNING CEREMONY - October 1, 2021
Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment in Somalia, 1993. Several awards were upgraded to Silver Stars during a ceremony on Fort Benning Oct. 1, 2021.
In a ceremony at Fort Benning, Georgia, 18 Army Rangers who fought in the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993 received Silver Stars Friday, Oct. 1, 2021, for their actions in the mission known as Operation Gothic Serpent in Somalia in 1993. The 15-hour gunfight that followed the crash of two MH-60 helicopters was immortalized in the movie Black Hawk Down, and the battle is often cited as the forged-by-fire event that launched the modern era of US special operations.
The Awardees included:
Sgt. Dominick Pilla, for suppressing multiple enemy positions while under fire as his element worked to extract seriously wounded Rangers. His actions went beyond the call of duty, and he paid the ultimate sacrifice, giving his own life to save his fellow soldiers.
“Few missions have left as enduring a legacy as the mission we’re recognizing today,” Gen. Richard Clarke, commander of the US Special Operations Command, said.
The Rangers, who were with Company B, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, in the infamous 1993 battle, had previously received lesser awards for valor. Now, almost 30 years later, those awards have been upgraded after a review.
Each recipient was announced as he made his way across the stage in front of Fort Benning Rangers and regimental family members. Of the 18 Rangers who received upgraded awards, 10 were present at the ceremony. Five awardees were unable to attend, and three awards were accepted by family members on their behalf.
Note: In the movie "Black Hawk Down" SGT Dominick Pilla was played by American actor and writer Danny Hoch. The Movie was nominated for Oscar awards Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing (Winner), and Best Sound (Winner). >>Black Hawk Down Movie on YouTube<<
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