# @marionmilitary on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CqtWH7gM6JQ
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/13733997-marionmilitary-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/0fc5098225.jpg
- **Posted:** 2023-04-06T20:43:10.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Marion Military Institute (@marionmilitary) — https://gondola.cc/marionmilitary

## Caption

MMI cadets, faculty & staff had the pleasure of hosting Mike Durant, CW4 (Retired) as a distinguished speaker on Wed. April 5. Addressing the Chapel audience, he shared examples of perseverance from his 22-year Army career, recalling multiple times when he opted for Plan B to reach career goals (such as flight school or special forces). He advised the college students to seize opportunities as they present themselves. 

With nearly 4,000 flight hours, having participated in combat operations Prime Chance (Persian Gulf), Just Cause (Panama), Desert Storm (Kuwait), and Restore Hope (Somalia), Durant is best known for a pivotal moment in U.S. military history: On Oct. 3, 1993, while piloting a Blackhawk in Mogadishu, Somalia, he was shot down by an RPG and held captive by hostile forces. The sole survivor of his flight crew, suffering severe injuries, he was released 11 days later. Told he would "never fly again," Durant finished the Marine Corps Marathon in fall 1995 and received a medical waiver to get back in the cockpit for 5 more years. 

His experience is part of the Black Hawn Down, book & film narrative, chronicling five helicopters shot down during that mission. Durant is the co-author of two books: In the Company of Heroes and The Night Stalkers. 

Durant is now Board Chair of Pinnacle Solutions, Inc. an engineering and services company he founded in 2008 in Huntsville. He and his wife Lisa, also an Army aviator, have 6 children and 3 grandchildren. 

#blackhawkdown

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## Tags

blackhawkdown

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