As our nation prepares to honor those who’ve served our country November 11 on Veteran’s Day, there’s a new book that chronicles one of our military’s most harrowing engagements. Get It On! What it Means to Lead the Way is Keni Thomas’ personal account of the 1993 battle in Mogadishu, Somalia that inspired the film Black Hawk Down. Yet the book is even more than an account of the battle, it’s an inspiring look at leadership, accountability and making a difference in people’s lives.

Click here to watch Keni Thomas’ video of “Not Me.”  

“It’s easier than writing a song. There’s no melody you have to worry about,” the singer/songwriter/motivational speaker says of penning his first book. “I got the bulk of the book done in a few months because they gave me a really quick turn around deadline. When it goes that smoothly, it was one of those things that was supposed to happen.  I had the story. I knew what I wanted to say. I had to work out how I said it and the rest of it seemed to go down pretty easy. Holding it in my hand, it’s pretty neat.”
  
Published by B&H Publishing Group, Get It On! What it Means to Lead the Way is just one of Thomas’ many accomplishments. A member of the 75th Ranger Regiment, Thomas is a recipient of the Bronze Star of Valor from the U.S. Army and has also received the Combat Infantryman Badge. After leaving the military, he pursued an interest in music and his band Keni Thomas & Cornbread can be seen in the Reese Witherspoon film “Sweet Home Alabama.” He also served as a military adviser and appeared in the film “We Were Soldiers” with Mel Gibson.
  
Thomas has released several albums, including 2005’s Flags of Our Fathers: A Soldier’s Story and 2007’s Gunslinger. Thomas has donated some of the proceeds from his record sales to the Hero Fund and Special Operations Warrior Foundation, providing college scholarships and financial aid to the children of deceased or wounded Special Operations soldiers.
  
Thomas developed a love for music while growing up in Gainesville, Fla., and credits the Choir Director at Trinity United Methodist with fostering his love of music and helping him remain grounded in church during his teen years. After graduating from the University of Florida, Keni enlisted in the Army and after completing Airborne School was assigned to B Company 3rd Ranger Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment. In the summer of 1993, Sgt. Thomas and his company were deployed to Mogadishu, Somalia as part of Operation Restore Hope. On Oct. 3, Thomas and his fellow Rangers entered Mogadishu on a mission and became involved in a bloody firefight with Somalis that lasted 18 hours, leaving 19 American soldiers dead and 78 wounded.
  
“At some point in a battle, you come to peace with the fact that if I die, I die.  I really did,” Thomas states. “There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t think about that battle. I really do understand that the only reason I made it out of there is by the grace of God and the people he put on my left and right that day. I understand the value in that and what it’s done for me.”
  
In Get It On! What it Means to Lead the Way Thomas details that incredible day and what he learned from the experience. “I’m proud to tell the story,” Thomas says, but admits he wanted his book to be more than another account of The Battle of Mogadishu. Instead he focuses on the experience from the perspective of the men in his squad, and he also delivers a broader message. “What I want readers to get from it is the same message I deliver when I go in and do the speaking. I want them to see how important they are as an individual because the stories I’m telling you are about the privates and the young sergeants. They were in charge of no one but themselves. The story isn’t about the captain, the colonels and the generals. It’s about the young guys, but it’s still all about leadership. Leadership is the example you set. What I hope folks take from it is how important they are as an individual because their example, their leadership is being counted on.”
  
Thomas encourages people to realize that no matter what their position in life their actions continually influence others. “There are people on your left and there are people on your right that are counting on you, and you start seeing that. I reinforce it with stories from the Bible. The theme that’s always there, at some point, when something tragic went down [is that] somebody was called on that had to step up and do something heroic. Every single time it was a person who did not think that they were capable of doing it, who did not see themselves as a leader. All these people who didn’t think themselves capable or important but they all stepped up. It was because of them stepping up that made the difference. By the time you finish reading the book, you realize that if you’re not in charge of something, if you feel you’re just a teacher, a mom, or a writer, you’ll realize that you’re more important than you think. If you are someone who is in charge, a president of a company, you’ll realize that there’s more that you can do to set an example. That’s what I hope people get out of it.”
 
There’s a song on Thomas’ album Flags of Our Fathers: A Soldier’s Story that sets this message to music. Emmylou Harris and Vince Gill lend their beautiful harmonies to Keni’s moving ballad “Not Me.”

No one raised their hand that day when they asked for volunteers.
He got picked out by default, he was the only daddy there.
They said we know what you're thinking
Choose someone else instead but this league is built on coaches
who stood right there and said...

Not Me, not me, no way with this job of mine I could never find the time,
Not me, not me
The world becomes a better place when
someone stands and leads the way, steps forward when they'd rather say not me

The judge says you're the oldest, makes you the legal guardian
I'm sorry that you lost your folks but there's no next of kin
Two brothers and a sister she knew how hard it would be but she softly said
I'll raise them while a voice inside her screamed....

Not me, Not me I can't believe what's happening
This isn't how it's supposed to be Not me not me
The world becomes a better place when someone stands
and leads the way steps forward when they'd rather say not me

A young captain at attention, a star pinned on his chest
He recalls the battle while the final roll call's read
They were the finest soldiers it was my privilege to lead
They deserve the medals, the men who died, not me

Not me not me I just did what I was called to do you'd do the same if it was you
Not me, not me
The world becomes a better place when someone stands
and leads the way steps forward when they'd rather say not me

Steps forward when they'd rather say
Not me

Thomas always grabs his guitar and sings the song at the end of his speaking engagements, a nice touch that gives audiences a taste of Keni Thomas the singer/songwriter in addition to the decorated soldier they just heard. Thomas admits leaving the military was a hard decision and for several years he continued to have “one foot in the music business and one foot in the military,” but his friend Jeff, who had fought in Mogadishu had become an Army chaplain and he helped Thomas see God opening a new door.
  
“Jeff told me ‘Don’t go back in the Army. I think you need to do music because it’s a gift. I don’t know anybody who can do what you do and say it the way you say it.  You have a chance to talk to so many people,’” Thomas says, recalling that pivotal advice. “That’s when I realized that Jeff was right.  I’ve been given a gift. I need to use it.  [The Army] was a part of me, but the Rangers were not defining me. The past does not define you. You can be whatever you want to be right now. It seems like such an easy thing to say, but it’s such a long lesson to learn--that you can go out there and be yourself. The day that I committed, saying ‘Okay music is what I’m going to do and that’s the gift that I’ve been given. God help me.’ You’d be amazed on how quickly he’ll let you know that you are on the right path.”
  
Thomas is working on his next country album and his busy schedule includes concerts as well as speaking engagements. He also continues to go overseas to perform for the troops and just returned from an October trip to Afghanistan where he gave free copies of his book to soldiers.
   
“At the end of the day, I really believe you have to have a message,” he tells GMC. “If you are given a microphone and a stage, it’s fun and you should entertain people. You should make them laugh. They can dance, tap their feet and you should move them, but at the end of the day you’ve got to have a message, otherwise what do you stand for?  There’s more to it than just songs. There’s got to be.”
  
It’s been 18 years now since that battle in the streets of Mogadishu. In hindsight, how does Thomas view it? “What that battle does for me is it’s a daily reminder that I’ve been given a responsibility,” he says. “It’s about something bigger than just me, and I know I’m here for a reason.”