Retired Army Maj. Larry Moores addresses the audience at the Silver Star ceremony. Moores received the Silver Star Medal for valor in combat March 25, 2024, more than 30 years after his actions in the infamous 1993 Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia — the battle made famous by the 2001 film “Black Hawk Down.” (Jean Wines/U.S. Army)

Retired Army Maj. Larry Moores has received the Silver Star Medal for valor in combat more than 30 years after his actions in the infamous 1993 Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia — the battle made famous by the 2001 film “Black Hawk Down.”

Gen. Gary Brito, commanding general of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, presented Moores with the Silver Star — the nation’s third-highest military decoration for valor — during a ceremony at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., in front of family and friends March 25.

“Mr. Moores, I personally salute you for your tenacity, your toughness in a crucible combat, and your commitment to our Army, and your fellow soldiers,” Brito said while presenting Moores with the award. “Your actions in Somalia were for them, your brothers in arms, and are a living tribute to the Ranger Creed, which I know that you hold dearly.”

Gen. Gary Brito, commanding general, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, presents retired Army Maj. Larry Moores with the Silver Star during a ceremony in front of family and friends March 25, 2024. Moores’ wife, Retired Army Col. Kerry E. Moores, watches the presentation. (Jean Wines/U.S. Army)

Moores, who served with 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment during the battle, codenamed Operation Gothic Serpent, received the award for his role in the fight, including coming to the aid of his fellow troops as they were pinned down under fire.

“We lost 18 [soldiers] in battle and had more than 70 Rangers wounded,” Moores said during the ceremony. “That was a tough experience because we were overwhelmed — with the odds against us. But it was amazing to watch the young Rangers still execute under very difficult circumstances.”

Moores enlisted in the Army at age 18 and was initially assigned to the 1st Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. “I was in the first class after the invasion of Grenada, so I was a young soldier who had already been in a combat experience in the early 1980s,” he said.

Then-President Bill Clinton deployed Task Force Ranger to Mogadishu in the summer of 1993 to capture Somali warlord Mohammed Farah-Adid. The task force was comprised mainly of Rangers from the 3rd Battalion, such as Moores, but also included other special operators and TF-160 Special Operations aviators.

Things went awry Oct. 3, when Somali militiamen used rocket-propelled grenades to shoot down two U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters filled with Rangers.

Retired Army Maj. Larry Moores (second from left) is shown with leaders in front of Gunslinger and pilot from TF 160. (Courtesy photo)

“Larry is deserving because he chose to go back to that street to try and break us out,” said retired Army Col. Larry Perino, a fellow Ranger platoon leader who served with Moores during the battle and attended the ceremony. “Despite going out there and getting riddled with bullets time and time again and losing Rangers, he had the intestinal fortitude to lead his men to help us.”

The battle was documented in the 1999 book “Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War” by journalist Mark Bowden and gained infamy with its film adaptation.

Moores was inducted as a Distinguished Member of the 75th Ranger Regiment in 2005 and also inducted into the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame in 2017. He currently works as a contractor within G-2 — U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (Intelligence).

Gen. Gary Brito, commanding general, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, presents retired Army Maj. Larry Moores with the Silver Star during a ceremony in front of family and friends March 25, 2024. Moores’ wife, retired Army Col. Kerry E. Moores, also stands at attention during the presentation. (Jean Wines/U.S. Army)