Damn the Valley

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

By: William Yeske, LTG Ben Hodges - Foreword USA (Ret.)

Narrated by: Basil Sands, William Yeske

Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

"DAMN THE VALLEY" was a phrase regularly uttered by the men that spent any amount of time in the Arghandab River Valley during the deployment of 2 Fury to Afghanistan in 2009-2010. The valley has claimed bodies from the troops of Alexander the Great, the British Empire, and more recently, the Russian Army. Operating in the valley was like nothing the men could have envisaged, they called it the "meat grinder."

It was a deployment that the media didn't talk about, and the government doesn't acknowledge. Three of the company were KIA, more than a dozen suffered life-changing injuries, and half the company had Purple Hearts-not many modern-day deployments have a 52% casualty rate. At one point, the entire prosthetics ward at Walter Reed was full of the men who patrolled that deadly area of the world.

Since their return, many of the survivors have struggled to move on with their lives, and the unit has been declared at "extraordinary risk" by the Department of Veteran Affairs. No one who entered that region was left unscathed. This book shares the perspective of the men that were on the ground for that deployment during the fighting season of 2010.

©2023 William Yeske (P)2024 Tantor

Task Force Wolfpack

Alpha Troop 1/17 CALVARY showing love Tarin Kowt Afghanistan RC South. Great book. Hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did!

A Brutal Look at War

This books spares few details that may be hard to stomach for some readers, but it is a solid glimpse into what it is we ask our fighters to do on our behalf while highlighting a need for better care down the road. I would highly recommend this book.

A gripping look into a war we tend to forget

This book made tangible some things that I forget from time to time. Both in good and bad sense. The story is told well and flows together as I was awash in memories as each guys face flashed in my vision as I heard them speak their own parts. This....is the kind of book the boys needed. Thanks Yeske ...you rule Brother

Heroes

Thank you lads for your service and it’s inspiring the dedication to each other you all have, the least you all deserve is the support and resources when returning home. God bless the USA…

Horrible in every way

I didn’t know an audio book could be this bad. The story is matter of fact and monotone. It’s hard not to describe the author any way other than he is a jerk. He thinks he brilliant and everyone else is dumb. The Private First Class thinks he has more insight than the NCOs and officers. He wants to be SF but all the sergeants believe is not capable. A significant portion of this book is his gripping. I understand that soldiers are in difficult situations and have the right to complain, but don’t write a book about it. There are other books that are much better and give a better picture of the war in Afghanistan. Try Red Platoon instead.