Yeske, William Damn the Valley

1st Platoon, Bravo Company, 2/508 PIR, 82nd Airborne in the Arghandab River Valley Afghanistan

Damned valley was a phrase regularly uttered by the men who spent time in the Arghandab River Valley during Operation 2 Fury in Afghanistan in 2009-2010. The valley has claimed many victims from the armies of Alexander the Great, the British Empire and, more recently, the Soviet Army. Operating in the valley was a completely new experience for the men, who called it the meat grinder. It was an operation that the media did not report on and the government does not acknowledge. Three soldiers from the company were killed, more than a dozen suffered life-changing injuries, and half the company received Purple Hearts not many modern deployments have a 52% casualty rate. At one point, the entire prosthetics ward at Walter Reed Hospital was filled with men who had patrolled that deadly part of the world. Since their return, many of the survivors have struggled to continue their lives, and the unit has been classified as exceptionally at risk by the Department of Veteran Affairs. No one who entered this region remained unscathed. This book conveys the perspective of the men who were on the ground during the 2010 combat period.