Thursday, October 31, 2013

The Hell Hole

   "Restrepo" is a movie that gives a good representation of the war in Afghanistan. The movie does a great job of showing the war through the soldiers perspective. The movie takes place in Korangal valley. Many of the soldiers call it the "hell whole". What made the soldiers fear Korangal Valley, and why was it so dangerous?
    In My Worst Nightmare and the Korangal Valley , it gives a great example of the fears of the soldiers when they return. "I was laying prone on the rocky ground, something I hardly ever did in Afghanistan.My heart pounded so loudly I thought it would break through my chest. I had never been more nervous. I feared for my life. I was sitting at the rocky outcrop on the southern part of the Korengal Outpost, the KOP. Taliban swarmed up the hillside, surrounding me. The men who were with me fell back; I couldn't stem the retreat. I knew at that moment I would die on that hill. And then I woke up, alone in my apartment in Vicenza, Italy. It was the worst nightmare I'd ever had. In my dream, I had returned to the Korengal Valley, later nicknamed the "Valley of Death." I only spent a couple months in the Korengal, but it felt much longer. The place haunted me before I arrived in Afghanistan; it still haunts me."

   







       
         The Korangal valley is vastly known as one of the deadliest terrains in the world. Vanity fair's Into The Valley of Death gives some good input into this. " One platoon is considered the tip of the American spear. Its men spend their days in a surreal combination of backbreaking labor—building outposts on rocky ridges—and deadly firefights, while they try to avoid the mistakes the Russians made. Sebastian Junger and photographer Tim Hetherington join the platoon’s painfully slow advance, as its soldiers laugh, swear, and run for cover, never knowing which of them won’t make it home."


    In conclusion, The Korangal Valley is popular for its deadly terrain. The valley will bring horror to soldiers before, during and after they get there. They live everyday knowing somebody could shoot at them at any time, and that's what makes this valley so dangerous.

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