GIs Slain in Somalia to Get Medal of Honor : Military: Clinton will award the first such decoration since Vietnam War to two who went to the aid of downed pilot.

President Clinton will award the Medal of Honor to two Army Rangers who were killed in last October’s ill-fated raid in Somalia--the first such decoration to be conferred since the Vietnam War, the White House announced Saturday.

The medals will go to Army Master Sgt. Gary I. Gordon of Lincoln, Me., and Sgt. 1st Class Randall D. Shughart of Newville, Pa. The two men died trying to rescue crew members of two Army helicopters that were shot down in an attempt to capture Somali warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid, who was a fugitive at the time.

The citation, made public by the White House, said Gordon and Shughart fought their way through intensifying rifle fire and rocket-propelled grenades to rescue an injured pilot, providing him with protective cover until they were almost out of ammunition.

After Shughart was killed, Gordon recovered another rifle from the crash site and gave it to the injured aviator--along with the last five rounds of ammunition. He then continued to fight, armed only with a pistol, until he himself was shot. The pilot was saved.

The Administration has come under criticism over the way the raid was conducted. Eighteen U.S. servicemen died in the assault.

Critics have charged that the deaths were unnecessary and that the raid would have resulted in fewer casualties if then-Secretary of Defense Les Aspin had not turned down an earlier request from field commanders for more tanks and armored vehicles.

In a hearing last Thursday, the two Army generals who supervised the raid also said they asked the Pentagon to send another AC-130H “Spectre” gunship to help cover the Ranger assault teams, but the request was rejected.

Clinton met privately with the families of some of the dead Rangers on Thursday and reportedly told them he was surprised and angry that subordinates had ordered the raid.

The medals, which will be presented in a ceremony at the White House on May 23, will be received by Carmen R. Gordon and Stephanie A. Shughart, the widows of the two slain soldiers.

The Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration, is awarded for extraordinary gallantry in combat.