War Hero At Grout
WATERLOO, Iowa – A hero of the Battle of Mogadishu who was portrayed in the movie “Black Hawk Down” will speak at the Iowa Veterans Museum at Grout Museum of History and Science June 7 from 10 to 11 a.m.
Matthew Eversmann, whose character was played by Josh Hartnett in the movie about the 1993 18-hour battle in the most hostile part of Somalia, is in Waterloo to keynote VGM’s 2011 Heartland Conference. He will speak to Heartland attendees at Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center earlier that morning.
His topic at Grout will be “Dedication, Pride and Commitment.” He has lectured on his Somalian experience throughout the world, represented the Army on “Larry King Live” and “Dateline with Stone Phillips, and has spoken to students and faculty at West Point, Annapolis and the Air Force Academy. Eversmann has also appeared before audiences at Ford, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Goldman Sachs, Merck, RAND and USA Today.
Eversmann enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1987, and later spent eight and a half years in the Third Battalion , 75th Ranger Regiment. He was a squad leader, a weapons squad sergeant, the battalion air operations sergeant, the battalion liaison sergeant and a platoon sergeant. He was also in charge of the regiment’s pre-Ranger course that helped train solders to pass the grueling Army Ranger School.
He has trained soldiers across the globe and was deployed to Mogadishu in support of Operation Gothic Serpent. In addition to attending many military schools, he received numerous awards and decorations, including the Bronze Star Medal with Valor for his service in Somalia.
Eversmann recently returned to the U.S. after serving 15 months in Iraq, and retired from the Army as an infantry company first sergeant after 20 years of service. He is the founder and president of Freeman Phillips LLC, a leadership development company, and the author of “The Battle of Mogadishu” (2004).
The presentation, sponsored by VGM Group, Inc., is by invitation only. For more information, call the museum, 234-6357.
For more information, call
Billie Bailey, 234-6357
