University News
"Black Hawk Down" Colonel to Speak at WIU Military Ball April 3
March 8, 2004
MACOMB, IL - - Tradition, country and honor will take center stage at Western Illinois University’s Saturday, April 3 Military Ball, which will include distinguished guest speaker Retired Colonel Danny McKnight, a U.S. Army Ranger Battalion Commander in the 1993 Mogadishu, Somalia operation, chronicled in the 2001 Columbia Pictures movie “Black Hawk Down.”
Presented by WIUÂ’s military science department and Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) cadets, the eveningÂ’s events begin at 6 p.m. with a social, followed by dinner, a program and dancing in the Union Grand Ballroom. Twenty-five ROTC cadets scheduled to be commissioned second lieutenants in the U.S. Army this calendar year will be introduced and enter the Ball under the traditional Arch of Swords.
"Participation in a formal military function is actually part of our curriculum," said Lieutenant Colonel Michael Cumbie, chair of Western's military science department. "It's a military tradition, and it offers the opportunity for our cadre and cadets to gather socially with the greater University and Macomb communities.
“We are especially privileged this year to have Colonel McKnight as our distinguished speaker,” Cumbie added. “I recently learned that he never was interviewed or consulted on the production of ‘Black Hawk Down,.’ but that his role, played by Tom Seizmore, evolved by the recollections of others. That says a lot about the man and his ability to command.”
In Somolia, Colonel McKnight commanded the Ranger element of Task Force RANGER, which consisted of Army Rangers, special operations aviators from Task Force 160 “The Nightstalkers” and elements of the 1st Special Forces Operations Detachment (Delta). During one specific operation (Oct. 3, 1993), the Task Force met unexpectedly fierce resistance from local Somalis and became embroiled in the longest sustained U.S. firefight since Vietnam. The 19-hour battle took the life of 18 Americans and an estimated 500 Somalis.
Throughout his 28-year career, COL McKnight served in a variety of command and staff positions in the continental U.S., Hawaii and Korea. He retired Jan. 1, 2002.
His military schooling includes the Infantry Officer Basic Course, the Infantry Officer Advance Course, the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, AL, and the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, PA. Additionally, he is a graduate of the ArmyÂ’s Airborne, Pathfinder and Ranger schools.
Colonel McKnight graduated from Florida State University (1973) with a degree in business and recognition as a Distinguished Military Graduate. He also earned a masterÂ’s degree in higher education and administration from the University of Florida.
Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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