Arts & Entertainment

'60 Minutes' Recalls Long Valley Hero's Final Moments

James Smith's fellow soldiers speak for the first time in 20 years about 'Black Hawk Down.'

It's been 20 years since a United States Army Black Hawk helicopter was shot down in Mogadishu, Somalia, resulting in a battle that killed and wounded hundreds.

One of the dead, Army Cpl. James "Jamie" Smith was just 21, and hailed from Long Valley. 

Smith's story and last hours was a focus of the film "Black Hawk Down," released in 2001. He was portrayed in the film by actor Charles Hofheimer. 

On Sunday, "60 Minutes" on CBS ran a 14 minute segment about an American couple trying to unearth remaining pieces of Super 6-1, the helicopter that was shot down in Somalia in 1993.

In the segment, Delta Force operator Norm Hooten spoke about Smith's fatal injury and his last hours as his fellow soldiers attempted to keep him alive.

Because of the location of Smith's wound, the soldiers were unable to get a tourniquet around it, Hooten said in the segment. Smith continued to ask "Am I going to die," according to Hooten, who kept reassuring the 21-year-old he would not.

"It's one of the things that keeps me up at night," Hooten told "60 Minutes." "That horrible lie you tell someone."

Washington Township approved a resolution earlier in 2013 to name a road at Rock Spring Park in honor of Smith, which was put in place and unveiled on Memorial Day. 



Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here