[machine gunfire]

[dark music playing]

[helicopter blades whirring]

[man 1 on comms]

Man 2: I can see myself shooting. Certain smells, of course. The smell of gunpowder.

[gunshot echoes] Blood, actually, is a very distinct smell.

[intense music playing]

[vehicle passing by]

[man 3 on comms]

Man 4: Go deep in the heart of the bad-guy territory, the heat hits you, you're sweating, the sand sticks to everything. Everybody's against us. My attitude was… we're the good guys. We're America. Wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't right.

[intense music continues]

Man 5: You could tell that something was noticeably different this day.

Man 6: You could hear gunfire. You could hear RPGs exploding. Then all hell breaks loose.

[in Somali]

[rocket whirring]

[machine gunfire]

[alarm sounding]

[man 7 yelling on comms in English]

[explosion]

[man 8 yelling on comms]

[crowd cheering]

[in Somali]

[in English] Medic!

Reporter 1: Humanitarian mission to Somalia has turned violent and deadly.

Reporter 2: Three US helicopters were shot down.

Reporter 3: Twelve Americans are dead, 78 wounded. Everywhere I looked, there's bad guys. It was just a madhouse. Pandemonium.

[machine gunfire]

Reporter 4: One of the worst battlefield tragedies in years.

Reporter 5: Somali casualties were put at 312 killed and 814 wounded.

[in Somali]

[man 9 in English]

[crowd cheering]

[in Somali]

Man 10: [in English] There's a small group of Americans fighting a city. We're trapped. I'm thinking, "This is it." There's no way I'm gonna live through this. Either we're gonna be overrun, or we have to fight our way out of the city.

[machine gunfire]

[indistinct shouting on comms]

[dischordant music swelling]

[radio beeps off]

[music stops]