Army Staff Sergeant Daniel Darrell Busch, 25, of Portage, Wisc, served with the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (Airborne), Task Force Ranger, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He died on October 3, 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia. After his Black Hawk helicopter, Super 61, was shot down, Busch defended its crew against overwhelming enemy forces. Although mortally wounded by gunfire, he continued fighting and later died at a medical aid station.

SSG Busch attended Portage Senior High School, where friends called him “Rambusch.” He enlisted immediately after graduating in 1986. During his seven-year career, he served with Company B, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, and later joined Delta Force where he completed Ranger, Pathfinder, Jumpmaster, medical-technician and military free-fall training. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart.

SSG Busch’s His cousin and childhood companion, Brian Wheeler, recalled: “He was the kind of guy you always wanted to be around.” His mother commented that he loved serving “God, country and fellow man”

SSG Busch was survived by his wife, Traci and a son.