1 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: Daoud watched nervously as the choppers descended from out of 2 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: the dawn sky, their giant blades throwing ominously as they 3 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:22,320 Speaker 1: dropped closer to the ground, kicking up dust and beating 4 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:27,320 Speaker 1: back the green shoots of wheat now oscillating wildly before him. 5 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 1: He turned sharply and made a quick retreat back into 6 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:35,320 Speaker 1: his house, bolting the door behind him. Then, peering out 7 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:38,440 Speaker 1: from the corner of a window, he watched as the 8 00:00:38,479 --> 00:00:42,240 Speaker 1: first pair of camel colored combat boots hit the floor, 9 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:47,159 Speaker 1: soon followed by numerous others, and prayed to Allah that 10 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: he would be left alone. Moments later, there came a loud, 11 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:57,640 Speaker 1: insistent knock at the door. The men, he assumed were 12 00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 1: Americans strangers, the people he'd been warned not to co 13 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,560 Speaker 1: operate with. They were joined at the door by a 14 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:10,080 Speaker 1: more familiar face, who put the strangers short, insistent words 15 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:14,480 Speaker 1: into Pashtu so that he could understand their demands. But 16 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:18,520 Speaker 1: Daoud was finding it hard to concentrate two distracted by 17 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: the service rifles in their hands. Just a few weeks ago, 18 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: men not unlike these killed a ten year old boy 19 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: in Daoud's village. Just another of the tens of thousands 20 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:34,120 Speaker 1: of Afghan civilians that would fall victim to a war 21 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: of which they had no control. Caught in the cross 22 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:42,039 Speaker 1: fire between Taliban insurgents and the invading U. S and 23 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 1: British forces, while Daoud in his own home did his 24 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 1: best not to seem guilty of anything. The interpreter explained 25 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:54,360 Speaker 1: that the soldiers wanted to use his home for the 26 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:57,480 Speaker 1: next few weeks, adding that they would pay good money 27 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:02,480 Speaker 1: for it, but Daoud couldn'toss agree. If word got out 28 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 1: to the Taliban that he'd taken money from Americans, the 29 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:11,560 Speaker 1: consequences would not be worth thinking about. Captain John Way's 30 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:14,919 Speaker 1: sun sighed and looked about at his men, who were 31 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 1: growing ever more skittish, stood out in the open, each 32 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 1: passing second bringing them closer to the possibility of death. 33 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:27,520 Speaker 1: He and his men were Marines, members of the second Battalion, 34 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: eighth Regiment, newly arrived in the region after spending two 35 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:36,240 Speaker 1: months acclimatizing at Camp Leatherneck, the marine's primary base in 36 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:41,639 Speaker 1: Helmand Province in South Afghanistan. The unit formed a handful 37 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:45,080 Speaker 1: of the four thousand new troops sent into Helmand as 38 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 1: part of Operation Kanjar, the latest roll of the dice 39 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 1: in the U. S Government's efforts to neutralize the Taliban's 40 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:57,160 Speaker 1: grip on the region. It was July twenty nine, and 41 00:02:57,240 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 1: with all things going to plan, the war would be 42 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:11,880 Speaker 1: all but over soon. Daoud's village, Saujerdez, was one of 43 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: many similar sized rural communities clustered around the Helmond River 44 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 1: in the Gamser district of Helmond. Although surrounded on all 45 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:24,480 Speaker 1: sides by endless miles of desert, here the land was 46 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:28,000 Speaker 1: rich and green, quite different to how many of the 47 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: Marines had imagined Afghanistan to look. To some, it reminded 48 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: them of the verdant countryside that surrounded their training base 49 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: in North Carolina, though they were under no illusions of 50 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: just how far from home they really were. Out of 51 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:48,440 Speaker 1: the twenty most dangerous districts of Afghanistan, according to the 52 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:53,320 Speaker 1: US military, nine were located in Helmand Province, being as 53 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 1: it was a vital asset for the Taliban on account 54 00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:00,480 Speaker 1: of the vast, sprawling poppy fields that also love the 55 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:04,680 Speaker 1: banks of the helm And River. The fields, which they 56 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:09,200 Speaker 1: cultivated for opium to help fund their operations, had flourished 57 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 1: thanks to an extensive canal and irrigation system that had 58 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:16,760 Speaker 1: been constructed back in the nineteen fifties and sixties, largely 59 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:21,480 Speaker 1: with the help of significant US government investment. The system 60 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:25,560 Speaker 1: had even been partially designed by the company Morrison Knudson, 61 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:29,160 Speaker 1: perhaps better known for building the Hoover Dam and the 62 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 1: San Francisco Bay Bridge, just one of the many ironies 63 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:38,880 Speaker 1: that characterized this most messy of wars. The attempt to 64 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:42,440 Speaker 1: commandeer Daoud's home was part of a new tactic to 65 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 1: go from village to village, setting up outposts and establishing 66 00:04:46,560 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: a visible presence throughout the region to try and route 67 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:54,600 Speaker 1: out any Taliban strongholds while simultaneously engaging with the local 68 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 1: population in the hope of winning their support. For those 69 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 1: like Daou, it is a fraught existence, stuck between the 70 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,920 Speaker 1: harsh authority of the Taliban and the ambiguous motives of 71 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:12,000 Speaker 1: the invading forces. For those like Captain's Son and his men, 72 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:14,919 Speaker 1: it is just the beginning of what must seem an 73 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: impossible task, the first of many they will face together 74 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 1: in the next seven months of their deployment. On this occasion, 75 00:05:24,839 --> 00:05:27,719 Speaker 1: it ends with Daoud being forced to give up his 76 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:31,120 Speaker 1: home for at least the next two weeks. After local 77 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:36,200 Speaker 1: elders convince him to hand over his property. Daoud has 78 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:39,799 Speaker 1: barely finished loading the last of his possessions onto a cart. 79 00:05:40,279 --> 00:05:44,360 Speaker 1: When the Marines move in. He doesn't take the money, 80 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 1: telling them instead to make it known that he had 81 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: no choice in the matter, and in many ways he didn't. 82 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:02,880 Speaker 1: Not far from from Saujardes, another unit from the second 83 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 1: and eighth of undertaking their first patrol outside the wire. 84 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:13,440 Speaker 1: Among them is twenty year old Lance Corporal Charles Seth Sharp, 85 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:17,839 Speaker 1: hailing from the town of Adairsville in northwestern Georgia, Sharp 86 00:06:17,839 --> 00:06:20,800 Speaker 1: had been motivated to join the Marines, partly in an 87 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:23,719 Speaker 1: effort to bring structure and focus to his life and 88 00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: to make his family proud, but mostly by a desire 89 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:32,479 Speaker 1: to fight for those who couldn't fight for themselves. While 90 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:36,160 Speaker 1: stationed in Iraq the year before, Sharp made a strange 91 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:39,520 Speaker 1: request to his family, asking them to send him coloring 92 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:43,279 Speaker 1: books and crayons for Christmas. As he explained to his 93 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:46,719 Speaker 1: bemused parents, he wanted to give them toward the kids 94 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:51,279 Speaker 1: he'd met throughout his time there. Only a few days 95 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:54,720 Speaker 1: before heading out on patrol, Sharp had written a letter 96 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:57,760 Speaker 1: to his grandmother telling her that he was about to 97 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:00,560 Speaker 1: take part in a mission that his grand children would 98 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:04,479 Speaker 1: learn about in history class, but Sharp would never live 99 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:09,120 Speaker 1: to have grandchildren. That morning, on his first patrol, his 100 00:07:09,279 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 1: unit came under attack, and he was shot in the 101 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:16,360 Speaker 1: neck by an unseen shooter and died soon after, becoming 102 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:22,120 Speaker 1: the first US casualty of Operation Kanjar. For many in 103 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:25,920 Speaker 1: the second Battalion and eighth Regiment, the time spent in 104 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: Camp Leatherneck had been a frustrating one. All cooped up 105 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:35,920 Speaker 1: together under one giant tent nicknamed the Circus Tent. Having 106 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:40,080 Speaker 1: trained for months building themselves up for action, the last 107 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:43,040 Speaker 1: thing they wanted was to be sitting around kicking their 108 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:47,560 Speaker 1: heels in the desert. Sharpe's death was a harsh wake 109 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 1: up call to the reality of combat and a brutal 110 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 1: reminder of the true nature of the battle they were 111 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:58,280 Speaker 1: engaged in. The Taliban were not a simple enemy to 112 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: be routed and crushed through sheer might and will. There 113 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:07,120 Speaker 1: were no military compounds to storm or governments to overthrow. 114 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:12,280 Speaker 1: Theirs was a much longer game characterized by stealth and surprise. 115 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:16,600 Speaker 1: Their presence felt not by what you did see, but 116 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:20,440 Speaker 1: what you didn't. A movement in the tree line up ahead, 117 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:24,920 Speaker 1: or the improvised explosive device buried six inches under the 118 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:29,320 Speaker 1: ground and primed to kill. And even when they did 119 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:33,680 Speaker 1: finally make their presence known, they could just as quickly disappear, 120 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:40,040 Speaker 1: like phantoms, back into the landscape, each member often indistinguishable 121 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:43,439 Speaker 1: to the Marines from the many other people whose land 122 00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:48,360 Speaker 1: they now stalked. As one Taliban commander was often fond 123 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:52,840 Speaker 1: of saying, the Americans might have the watches, but they 124 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:58,240 Speaker 1: had the time of all the conflicts in recent years, 125 00:08:58,679 --> 00:09:01,520 Speaker 1: it is little wonder that from out of this one 126 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:07,440 Speaker 1: tales of ghosts would emerge. You're listening to Unexplained, and 127 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:19,199 Speaker 1: I'm Richard McLean Smith. The small group of Marines stamped 128 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 1: their feet to keep warm as a hazy, pale sun 129 00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 1: crept up over the makeshift walls of Patrol Base Hassanabad, 130 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:31,360 Speaker 1: a rudimentary settlement on the outskirts of Hassanabad Village that 131 00:09:31,559 --> 00:09:35,280 Speaker 1: was comprised of little more than giant reinforced sacks of 132 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:39,679 Speaker 1: gravel and a few canvas tents. On the orders of 133 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:43,960 Speaker 1: their sergeant, the eight men, comprising a unit from Golf Company, 134 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:48,600 Speaker 1: second Battalion, eighth Regiment, jumped into the waiting armored trucks 135 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:53,880 Speaker 1: and sat anxiously as the gate was opened. Moments later, 136 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:58,520 Speaker 1: they were out beyond the perimeter wall, huddled together with 137 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:02,240 Speaker 1: the nervous energy of the res recently deployed, the prospect 138 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:05,720 Speaker 1: of hitting an ied and ever constant in their minds. 139 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:11,240 Speaker 1: For some, this was little more than routine. For others, 140 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:15,320 Speaker 1: like twenty two year old Lance Corporal Adam Wilson, this 141 00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:20,360 Speaker 1: was their first assignment beyond the wire. Wilson looked out 142 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:24,520 Speaker 1: through the truck's dusty window at the alien landscape beyond, 143 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 1: a mix of scrub and wheat fields, a far cry 144 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:33,120 Speaker 1: from his home city of Xenia, Ohio, while up above, 145 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:37,520 Speaker 1: a compatriot tended the truck's single machine gun, surveying the 146 00:10:37,559 --> 00:10:42,560 Speaker 1: horizon for any signs of a threat. Thankfully, with only 147 00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:45,559 Speaker 1: a few hundred meters to travel, it wasn't long before 148 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:49,280 Speaker 1: they derived their destination, the truck skidding to a stop 149 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:52,520 Speaker 1: beside what looked like little more than a huge pile 150 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:57,160 Speaker 1: of mud. After quickly vacating the vehicle, the men took 151 00:10:57,160 --> 00:10:59,760 Speaker 1: a moment to survey the place they would be calling 152 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:04,040 Speaker 1: home for the next sixty days. A small outpost set 153 00:11:04,160 --> 00:11:06,800 Speaker 1: up about twenty meters high on the top of a 154 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:14,160 Speaker 1: strange dirt hill designated Observation Point Rock, or simply the Rock. 155 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:27,840 Speaker 1: Being the highest point for some considerable distance, the rock 156 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:31,400 Speaker 1: was an obvious place to put an observation post from 157 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:35,120 Speaker 1: which any incoming enemies could be spotted long before they 158 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:39,280 Speaker 1: had time to reach the patrol base. Despite its relative 159 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:42,840 Speaker 1: closeness to the base, the facilities were basic at best, 160 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:47,200 Speaker 1: with no electricity, running water, or even beds to sleep in. 161 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:51,400 Speaker 1: As such, it was necessary to maintain a steady rotation 162 00:11:51,559 --> 00:11:57,160 Speaker 1: of personnel to occupy the post. Feeling thoroughly exposed and 163 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:01,000 Speaker 1: with the heat already beginning to rise, the Marines quickly 164 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:03,760 Speaker 1: made their way to the shelter of the compound above, 165 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:08,200 Speaker 1: where they were greeted by its outgoing occupiers, a group 166 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:13,160 Speaker 1: of Welsh Guards from the British Army. Lance Corporal Wilson 167 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:16,960 Speaker 1: couldn't help contrasting the fresh faces of his fellow Marines 168 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:22,360 Speaker 1: with this tired, despondent group of men hastily packing their bags, 169 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:27,440 Speaker 1: evidently in a hurry to vacate the place. Meanwhile, Corporal 170 00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:31,280 Speaker 1: Jacob Lena, the unit's second in command, made his way 171 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:34,360 Speaker 1: along one of the few shallow trenches that had been 172 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:38,480 Speaker 1: carved out of the mound, and surveyed the scene. The 173 00:12:38,559 --> 00:12:41,760 Speaker 1: post was centered around a single machine gun that poked 174 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:43,720 Speaker 1: out of a small hutch on the west side of 175 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:47,560 Speaker 1: the hill. Some old magazines were littered about the place, 176 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:51,200 Speaker 1: while the remnants of a small homemade gym could just 177 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:56,959 Speaker 1: be glimpsed from underneath some camouflage netting. Just then, Lena 178 00:12:57,080 --> 00:12:59,880 Speaker 1: was startled by the bark of a dog, which revealed 179 00:12:59,920 --> 00:13:05,280 Speaker 1: it moments later. Eager to meet the new arrivals, as 180 00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:08,360 Speaker 1: one of the British soldiers explained it was a local 181 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 1: stray that adopted. Calling it ugly Betty, Lena promised to 182 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:18,200 Speaker 1: look after it for them. Ordinarily, this would be the 183 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:21,080 Speaker 1: point at which the previous group took a moment to 184 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:25,240 Speaker 1: go over a few details about the local landscape, sniper 185 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:28,360 Speaker 1: spots to look out for, or any individuals they might 186 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:31,800 Speaker 1: want to be suspicious of, but the Welsh guards offered 187 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:36,200 Speaker 1: no such courtesy, preferring simply to clear out as quickly 188 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:40,720 Speaker 1: as possible. There was one piece of advice, however, that 189 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:45,320 Speaker 1: they were willing to impart. Should the men dig anything up, 190 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:48,720 Speaker 1: it might be best to put it back where they 191 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:59,199 Speaker 1: found it the Marines who made themselves busy settling into 192 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:01,800 Speaker 1: their new home as they quickly got down to the 193 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:05,480 Speaker 1: business of determining sentry shifts and figuring out the most 194 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:10,920 Speaker 1: comfortable places to get some sleep. With temperatures routinely hitting 195 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:14,480 Speaker 1: close to forty degrees celsius, finding ways to stay in 196 00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:18,840 Speaker 1: the shade would also be vital. As the last of 197 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:22,640 Speaker 1: that first day's light ebbed away and the hazy, pink 198 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:26,080 Speaker 1: and bluish hues of dusk descended, the men could be 199 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:29,320 Speaker 1: thankful to have made it through the day without incident. 200 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:34,840 Speaker 1: That evening, Corporal Lena took first watch at the machine gun, 201 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:38,960 Speaker 1: gazing out at the complicated mix of homes, fields and 202 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:42,960 Speaker 1: fir trees dotted before him, the shadows growing longer and 203 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:48,320 Speaker 1: longer before dissolving momentarily, only to later re emerge under 204 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:52,520 Speaker 1: the gentle light of the moon. Not far to the south, 205 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:56,240 Speaker 1: Lena could just make out the old, rusted shells of 206 00:14:56,320 --> 00:15:00,800 Speaker 1: two Soviet era tanks half buried in the earth, remnants 207 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:05,240 Speaker 1: of a past, both distant yet inextricably linked to Lena's 208 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 1: own presence thirty years later, and only a few hundred 209 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:14,120 Speaker 1: meters away, The tanks were as alien to this landscape 210 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:17,120 Speaker 1: as Lina was, each of them brought here by the 211 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:21,440 Speaker 1: same winds that had left so many unwitting people sprawling 212 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:26,640 Speaker 1: in its wake. Lina scanned back across the fields, almost 213 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:29,760 Speaker 1: willing for something to happen, doing his best to stop 214 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:33,840 Speaker 1: his mind from wandering. It was always difficult being on 215 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:37,440 Speaker 1: watch in such places of isolation, trying to toe the 216 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:42,200 Speaker 1: line between staying alert to any possible threat while simultaneously 217 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:45,760 Speaker 1: trying your hardest not to allow the possibility of such 218 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:50,760 Speaker 1: a threat to overwhelm you. Lina was just eyeing the 219 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:53,920 Speaker 1: lip of a nearby ditch when a burst of static 220 00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:57,720 Speaker 1: blared out of the outpost's radio, causing him to jump, 221 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:03,320 Speaker 1: catching himself. Lina turned to face it, anticipating an imminent 222 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:07,960 Speaker 1: communication from the patrol base. Then the radio crackled again, 223 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:13,040 Speaker 1: a muffled voice just about audible swimming around in the 224 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:17,000 Speaker 1: thick of it. Lena grabbed the device and fiddled with 225 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:21,400 Speaker 1: the controls, switching it back to the required frequency. He 226 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:24,120 Speaker 1: called up the bass and asked them to repeat the message, 227 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 1: but the voice at the other end was confused. They 228 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:33,440 Speaker 1: hadn't sent a message. Lina looked again at the radio, 229 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:37,640 Speaker 1: then apologized for wasting the bass operator's time and turned 230 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:43,680 Speaker 1: back to the gun. Moments later, the radio crackled into 231 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:51,440 Speaker 1: life again, and once again Lina heard that strange muffled voice. 232 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 1: Listening closer, he soon realized it wasn't speaking in English, 233 00:16:56,360 --> 00:17:00,960 Speaker 1: it was speaking Russian. Perhaps the radio was picking up 234 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:04,879 Speaker 1: someone else's transmissions, he thought, giving the radio a thump, 235 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:16,760 Speaker 1: Or perhaps he was simply imagining things. Over the next 236 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:19,560 Speaker 1: few days, with little else to do with their time, 237 00:17:20,080 --> 00:17:24,680 Speaker 1: the marine's attention soon turned to fortifying their position. Most 238 00:17:24,840 --> 00:17:27,560 Speaker 1: pressing of all was the fact that, with the exception 239 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:32,160 Speaker 1: of a few well placed sandbags, nowhere offered significant safety 240 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:36,879 Speaker 1: from most potential lines of enemy fire. Though some trenches 241 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:40,040 Speaker 1: had been dug in and around the compound, none were 242 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:43,720 Speaker 1: deep enough to bring you lower than the parapet without crouching, 243 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:47,919 Speaker 1: and so it was one morning that Corporal Lena and 244 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:52,280 Speaker 1: Lance Corporal Wilson, along with one other compatriot, began the 245 00:17:52,359 --> 00:17:58,119 Speaker 1: arduous task of rectifying the situation. The clatter of shovels 246 00:17:58,240 --> 00:18:01,600 Speaker 1: scraping dirt rang out through the camp as the men 247 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:05,880 Speaker 1: battled against the rock hard ground and the ever rising temperatures. 248 00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:10,399 Speaker 1: As Wilson paused for some water, Lena dug his shovel 249 00:18:10,440 --> 00:18:13,560 Speaker 1: in once more, only for it to clang against something 250 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:17,840 Speaker 1: buried a few inches under the surface. Lena threw down 251 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:21,200 Speaker 1: his shovel and pulled a thin, tangled strip of metal 252 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:24,560 Speaker 1: from the ground. Then he blew off the dirt and 253 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:28,240 Speaker 1: held it up to the light. It was hard to 254 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:31,600 Speaker 1: tell what it was exactly, an old piece of shrapnel, 255 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:36,560 Speaker 1: most likely, suggested Wilson. Lena nodded in agreement as he 256 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:39,520 Speaker 1: tried to read some strange markings that had been etched 257 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:44,399 Speaker 1: onto the side of it. It looked like Cyrillick. He 258 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:48,200 Speaker 1: thought back to that strange radio transmission from the night before, 259 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:51,800 Speaker 1: but thought better of telling Wilson about it lest he 260 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:56,119 Speaker 1: sound like he was going crazy. Half an hour later, 261 00:18:56,520 --> 00:18:59,199 Speaker 1: with the men having hardly made a dent in the trench, 262 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:03,479 Speaker 1: Wilson slammed his shovel into the ground, unearthing a small 263 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:08,719 Speaker 1: sunken space about two feet wide beyond it. Spotting something 264 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:12,760 Speaker 1: within it, Wilson reached inside and pulled it out, then 265 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:17,240 Speaker 1: recoiled in horror. It was unmistakably the leg bone of 266 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:21,760 Speaker 1: a human. Wilson's colleague grabbed it from him and goofed 267 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:24,919 Speaker 1: around with it, but neither Wilson or Lina saw the 268 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:29,080 Speaker 1: funny side. Remembering suddenly those final words the British had 269 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:32,600 Speaker 1: said to them, if you dig anything up, you should 270 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:37,280 Speaker 1: probably make sure to bury it, Lina grabbed the bone 271 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:41,800 Speaker 1: and put it back where Wilson had found it, having 272 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:45,920 Speaker 1: got back to the task at hand. Moments later, Wilson 273 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:51,680 Speaker 1: found another fragment of bone. Then Lina did too. In fact, 274 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:56,480 Speaker 1: the more they digged, the more bones they uncovered. It 275 00:19:56,600 --> 00:20:00,199 Speaker 1: soon became clear why the previous occupants had preferred not 276 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:07,760 Speaker 1: to dig any deeper. They were camped on a graveyard. 277 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:14,680 Speaker 1: As news of the gruesome discovery made its way through 278 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:16,960 Speaker 1: the group, it was hard not to be a little 279 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:20,960 Speaker 1: unsettled by it. Even in the height of war, such 280 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:25,919 Speaker 1: things rarely fail to make the skin crawl. Perhaps it 281 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,639 Speaker 1: was all the talk of the bones, or perhaps it 282 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:32,120 Speaker 1: was the strange remoteness of the location and the unending 283 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:35,600 Speaker 1: cycle of boredom that comes with occupying such a post. 284 00:20:36,359 --> 00:20:39,879 Speaker 1: Either way, something of the place was beginning to seep 285 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:46,000 Speaker 1: into the men. Two weeks later, Corporal Austin Hoyt celebrated 286 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:50,439 Speaker 1: his twentieth birthday. That night, it was his turn to 287 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:55,240 Speaker 1: take machine gun duty. Growing up on a farm back 288 00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:58,040 Speaker 1: in the States, he was used to the quiet and 289 00:20:58,119 --> 00:21:00,919 Speaker 1: had thought nothing of being stationed at the rock for 290 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:05,439 Speaker 1: sixty days. But back home the quiet was something to 291 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:09,879 Speaker 1: be cherished and revered. Here, it was only ever a 292 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:14,000 Speaker 1: vacuum for the worst thoughts to infiltrate. It was a 293 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:18,280 Speaker 1: quiet that spoke not of wistful hopes and dreams, but 294 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:23,040 Speaker 1: only of things lying in wait. When suddenly the quiet 295 00:21:23,119 --> 00:21:28,399 Speaker 1: was broken by a horrific scream, Hoyt scrambled for his 296 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:33,840 Speaker 1: night vision binoculars and scoured the perimeter fencing below, assuming 297 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:37,320 Speaker 1: someone had been caught in the razor wire, but the 298 00:21:37,359 --> 00:21:42,399 Speaker 1: fencing was completely empty and untouched. Blurring the binoculars to 299 00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:45,560 Speaker 1: the ground, Hoyt gasped at the sight of a large 300 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:51,040 Speaker 1: humanoid shadow darting out across a nearby field. Moments later, 301 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:57,080 Speaker 1: it was gone. Just then Wilson and Lena burst into 302 00:21:57,119 --> 00:22:01,200 Speaker 1: the machine gun post, clutching their M four rifle. They'd 303 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:04,920 Speaker 1: heard the scream too. With no choice but to head 304 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:08,280 Speaker 1: out and investigate, the three of them cautiously made their 305 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:12,040 Speaker 1: way to the perimeter fencing and stepped out beyond the wire, 306 00:22:13,119 --> 00:22:16,560 Speaker 1: but after a thorough scout at the surrounding area, the 307 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:32,120 Speaker 1: men found nothing. After only four weeks. Lance Corporal Zonik 308 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:35,160 Speaker 1: can't quite put his finger on it, but it's clear 309 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:38,360 Speaker 1: that something in the mood of the men has shifted. 310 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:42,320 Speaker 1: Taking a machine gun watch that night, as all the 311 00:22:42,359 --> 00:22:45,520 Speaker 1: stars of the desert emerged one by one from out 312 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:48,800 Speaker 1: of the sky, he soon finds his mind wandering to 313 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:53,320 Speaker 1: thoughts of family and loved ones back home. Phoning home 314 00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 1: is a rare event at the best of times for 315 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:59,720 Speaker 1: military personnel, but being stationed out here, it will be 316 00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:01,960 Speaker 1: months before he is able to speak to any of 317 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:06,720 Speaker 1: them again. For many service personnel posted all over the 318 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:10,760 Speaker 1: world far from home, especially with so many being barely 319 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:14,040 Speaker 1: out of their teens and in young relationships and marriages, 320 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:17,159 Speaker 1: it can be all too easy to let the separation 321 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:21,240 Speaker 1: each you up, and equally so for those left back 322 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:26,040 Speaker 1: at home, whether in loving relationships or deteriorating ones. Not 323 00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:28,760 Speaker 1: knowing if they might ever speak to their partners or 324 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:33,080 Speaker 1: relatives again, many prefer not to call home at all 325 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:36,720 Speaker 1: to avoid the pain of hearing their loved one's voices. 326 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:40,639 Speaker 1: Others are reluctant to make any promises of future calls, 327 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:45,960 Speaker 1: just in case they are unable to fulfill it. Zolnik 328 00:23:46,040 --> 00:23:48,760 Speaker 1: took a swig of water to perk himself up, and 329 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:52,080 Speaker 1: slapped away at another giant moth that was buzzing about 330 00:23:52,119 --> 00:23:57,000 Speaker 1: his head, when suddenly he felt the unmistakable sensation of 331 00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:00,960 Speaker 1: a cold breeze across his face, follow by what sounded 332 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:04,879 Speaker 1: like a voice whispering to him from out of the darkness. 333 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:11,679 Speaker 1: Zolnich spun round, looking about. Who's there, he said, but 334 00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:15,040 Speaker 1: there was no reply. It was only then that he 335 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:19,800 Speaker 1: noticed just how cold the air had suddenly become, and 336 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:25,359 Speaker 1: then the whispering voice came again. Zolnik jumped. God, damn it, 337 00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:30,040 Speaker 1: that isn't funny, he said, still looking about. Then the 338 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:35,320 Speaker 1: sound of footsteps approached, crunching in the dirt outside. Zolnich 339 00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:37,600 Speaker 1: froze at the sound of them as they drew near, 340 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:41,040 Speaker 1: then moved up to the top of the mound above 341 00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:45,240 Speaker 1: the machine gun post. Assuming with relief that one of 342 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:48,840 Speaker 1: his colleagues had finally come to join him, Zolnich grabbed 343 00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:52,760 Speaker 1: his end for and ran out of the hutch. Hoyt 344 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:55,639 Speaker 1: is that you? He said, as he looked up to 345 00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:59,240 Speaker 1: the top of the mound, but no one was there. 346 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:04,800 Speaker 1: Doing his best to suppress the rising fear, Zolnik ran 347 00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:07,920 Speaker 1: back inside and pointed his gun toward the stretch of 348 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:10,840 Speaker 1: land at the base of the mound and hurriedly scanned 349 00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:14,760 Speaker 1: it back and forth through his thermal scope, when suddenly 350 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:18,920 Speaker 1: he spotted the white thermal outline of a figure standing 351 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:24,119 Speaker 1: about a hundred yards from the outpost. Moments later, Lance 352 00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:28,000 Speaker 1: Corporal Hoyt arrived to relieve Zolnich of his duty, finding 353 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:32,760 Speaker 1: him clearly rattled by something that someone there, insisted Zelnich, 354 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:37,959 Speaker 1: but when he looked again, the figure was gone. Hoyt 355 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:40,600 Speaker 1: took a look through his own scope and then through 356 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:45,680 Speaker 1: the night vision binoculars, but saw nothing. I guess they're 357 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:49,480 Speaker 1: gone now, said Hoyt, before patting Zolnich on the shoulder 358 00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:59,640 Speaker 1: and telling him to get some sleep. Over the next 359 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:04,120 Speaker 1: few days, Zoonich seemed unable to shift something from his mind. 360 00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:09,080 Speaker 1: With his condition rapidly deteriorating, the sergeant made the decision 361 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:13,920 Speaker 1: to have him transferred out. As one day bled into 362 00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:16,679 Speaker 1: the next, the men on the rock seemed to become 363 00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:19,840 Speaker 1: more and more untethered from the strictures of life on 364 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:25,119 Speaker 1: patrol Base Hassanabad, beards were left unshaven as some of 365 00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:28,280 Speaker 1: the men took to sitting about shirtless in the oppressive 366 00:26:28,359 --> 00:26:32,840 Speaker 1: desert heat. It was sometime around thirty days into their 367 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:36,359 Speaker 1: posting that Corporal Lena was back on night watch at 368 00:26:36,359 --> 00:26:39,480 Speaker 1: the machine gun, with ugly Betty sat by his side 369 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:43,639 Speaker 1: to keep him company. It had just passed one thirty 370 00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:47,840 Speaker 1: a m when Betty sat up suddenly and began barking 371 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:52,560 Speaker 1: furiously into the night. Lina grabbed the night vision binoculars 372 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:57,440 Speaker 1: and scanned the fields below. As Betty's barks grew louder 373 00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:01,600 Speaker 1: and more insistent, Lina caught sight of a figure dressed 374 00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:06,840 Speaker 1: in Perihano tamban about two hundred meters away, standing completely still, 375 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:12,399 Speaker 1: that appeared to be staring directly at him. Lena grabbed 376 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:15,879 Speaker 1: hurriedly for his thermal scope to pinpoint the figure's position, 377 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:21,399 Speaker 1: but when he looked again, the figure had gone. Taking 378 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:24,760 Speaker 1: the night vision binoculars again, he gasped at the sight 379 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:28,520 Speaker 1: of the same person, now standing one hundred meters closer, 380 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:32,880 Speaker 1: on the verge of firing a warning shot. Lina grabbed 381 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:35,960 Speaker 1: his M four and looked down the thermal scope to 382 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:40,920 Speaker 1: find the figure again, but once more they had completely vanished. 383 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:45,520 Speaker 1: In a panic, Lina was just about to alert the 384 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:48,399 Speaker 1: others when he felt the heavy tap of fingers on 385 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:51,879 Speaker 1: his shoulders, the sergeant signal to let him know that 386 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:56,080 Speaker 1: he is standing behind him. With a sigh of relief, 387 00:27:56,440 --> 00:28:01,960 Speaker 1: Lina spun around, only to find that he was completely alone. 388 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:05,560 Speaker 1: In horror, he grabbed once more for the night vision 389 00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:10,679 Speaker 1: binoculars and hurriedly scanned the surrounding area as Betty continued 390 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:23,199 Speaker 1: to bark, but once again Lena found nothing. Despite his 391 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:26,520 Speaker 1: fears that he'll be judged at best unfit for duty 392 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:32,560 Speaker 1: and at worst insane, after forty days of strange, inexplicable experiences, 393 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:37,399 Speaker 1: Corporal Lena finally decides to confide in his colleagues, telling 394 00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:40,520 Speaker 1: Wilson and Hoyt about everything that had been going on. 395 00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:44,440 Speaker 1: Having expected them to poke fun at him, it is 396 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:47,480 Speaker 1: with some surprise when both of them revealed that they 397 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:53,880 Speaker 1: too had been experiencing ghostly inexplicable events. Then Hoyt thought 398 00:28:53,920 --> 00:28:57,160 Speaker 1: back to the night that Zolnik had seemed so spooked 399 00:28:57,720 --> 00:29:02,239 Speaker 1: right before he decided to transfer out. Clearly it had 400 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:07,000 Speaker 1: been happening to him too. The men agreed to keep 401 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:10,160 Speaker 1: it between themselves for the time being, eager to see 402 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:12,800 Speaker 1: out the remainder of their posting and get back to 403 00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:16,640 Speaker 1: the main base. Through it all, they could be grateful 404 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:20,480 Speaker 1: for making it through unscathed, with or without the mysterious 405 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:25,080 Speaker 1: goings on. On their last night at the post, it 406 00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:28,240 Speaker 1: fell to Lance Corporal Wilson to tend the machine gun. 407 00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:32,840 Speaker 1: Sat up there alone in the cool night air, Wilson 408 00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:36,440 Speaker 1: repeated over and over to himself that it was just 409 00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:40,240 Speaker 1: one more night, and by tomorrow it would all be over. 410 00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:46,360 Speaker 1: No more whispering voices, no more ghostly figures glimpsed out 411 00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:50,400 Speaker 1: of the corner of his eyes. When suddenly all hell 412 00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:54,760 Speaker 1: broke loose. Wilson barely had time to react as the 413 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:59,400 Speaker 1: cacophonous sound of machine gun fire rang out all around him. 414 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:03,200 Speaker 1: Stumble back into the hutch. He was joined almost immediately 415 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:06,600 Speaker 1: by Corporal Lena, yelling for him to tell him where 416 00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:10,880 Speaker 1: the fire was coming from, but Wilson didn't know. It 417 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:15,120 Speaker 1: all happened so fast. Then an almighty wush went up 418 00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:18,520 Speaker 1: into the air, the sound of a rocket propelled grenade 419 00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:23,440 Speaker 1: being launched close by. Lena shouted for Wilson to get down, 420 00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:30,240 Speaker 1: and together they braced for impact, and then nothing, only 421 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:33,920 Speaker 1: the silence of the desert save for the melancholic ring 422 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:38,960 Speaker 1: of a distant cow bell. Wilson and Lena staggered to 423 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:43,800 Speaker 1: their feet, utterly confused, and stared out into the night. 424 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:56,480 Speaker 1: After sixty days, Corporal Jacob Lena, Lance Corporal Adam Wilson, 425 00:30:56,840 --> 00:31:01,600 Speaker 1: and Lance Corporal Austin Hoyt returned to Patrol Base Hassanabad 426 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:05,440 Speaker 1: and rejoined the rest of their compatriots from second Battalion, 427 00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:12,160 Speaker 1: eighth Marine Regiment. All three of them returned home alive. Others, however, 428 00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:15,000 Speaker 1: who had spent time with them on the Rock, were 429 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:19,280 Speaker 1: not so lucky, leaving Lena to wonder that perhaps it 430 00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:22,560 Speaker 1: was their uncovering of things in the earth there that 431 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:26,560 Speaker 1: had placed a curse on them. In many ways, However, 432 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:29,640 Speaker 1: the men had been cursed a long time before they 433 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:33,720 Speaker 1: ever made it to Observation Point Rock, caught up in 434 00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:38,200 Speaker 1: an unwinnable war, their valiant efforts forever fated to be 435 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:42,760 Speaker 1: beaten back against a complex tide of history and circumstance. 436 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:47,280 Speaker 1: By the time the reports of the strange goings on 437 00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:50,040 Speaker 1: at the Rock were first published, in a twenty oh 438 00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:54,239 Speaker 1: nine Times article written by Tom Coglan, the rumours were 439 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:56,800 Speaker 1: old news among many of the troops that had the 440 00:31:56,840 --> 00:32:01,000 Speaker 1: misfortune to come by it, and over time a picture 441 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:05,760 Speaker 1: began to emerge of oblique and haunting history. One local 442 00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:08,840 Speaker 1: scholar suggested that the hill had once been an ancient 443 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:12,840 Speaker 1: fort built some time in the eighteenth century, under which 444 00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:16,840 Speaker 1: a series of tunnels had been constructed, before later becoming 445 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:21,120 Speaker 1: a sacred shrine to many of the local communities. At 446 00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:23,800 Speaker 1: some point in the nineteen eighties, it is thought to 447 00:32:23,880 --> 00:32:27,440 Speaker 1: be occupied by soldiers from the Soviet Union, who fought 448 00:32:27,480 --> 00:32:31,479 Speaker 1: a long and bitter battle alongside the People's Democratic Party 449 00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:35,400 Speaker 1: of Afghanistan, the ruling power at the time, against a 450 00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:40,240 Speaker 1: number of militia groups intent on overthrowing them. Some claim 451 00:32:40,520 --> 00:32:44,920 Speaker 1: that early in the conflict, Nasim A Kunzada, the fearsome 452 00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:49,320 Speaker 1: commander of one such militia group, captured the rock along 453 00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:53,040 Speaker 1: with the soldiers occupying it, and had the more beheaded 454 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:58,040 Speaker 1: on the spot, then later buried where they fell. Others 455 00:32:58,040 --> 00:33:01,160 Speaker 1: have suggested they were in fact members of the Afghan 456 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:07,120 Speaker 1: police force in time, helped with funding from the United 457 00:33:07,120 --> 00:33:11,160 Speaker 1: States government, who, like the Soviet Union were keen to 458 00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:15,240 Speaker 1: be the dominant influence over the area. The Soviet Union 459 00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:19,480 Speaker 1: and the PDPA were eventually defeated by the militia forces. 460 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:24,560 Speaker 1: By then, however, those forces had merged into a fragile 461 00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:30,720 Speaker 1: coalition often lumped together under the term mujahadeen. It is 462 00:33:30,760 --> 00:33:33,560 Speaker 1: from this group of people, in one way or another, 463 00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:38,960 Speaker 1: that Osama Bin Laden al Qaeda, and ultimately the Taliban 464 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:46,000 Speaker 1: would emerge, and well, you know the rest. In the 465 00:33:46,040 --> 00:33:49,920 Speaker 1: Soviet Afghan War of nineteen seventy nine to nineteen eighty nine, 466 00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:55,040 Speaker 1: it is estimated that around fifteen thousand Soviet soldiers were killed, 467 00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:59,720 Speaker 1: with anywhere between half a million to two million Afghans 468 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:05,800 Speaker 1: also thought to have been killed. Since two thousand and one, 469 00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:10,000 Speaker 1: war in Afghanistan has claimed the lives of roughly two 470 00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:15,160 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty thousand people, among them four hundred and 471 00:34:15,160 --> 00:34:20,040 Speaker 1: fifty seven UK Armed Forces personnel and two thousand, three 472 00:34:20,160 --> 00:34:25,680 Speaker 1: hundred and seventy two US military personnel. An estimated seventy 473 00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:30,000 Speaker 1: one thousand Afghan and Pakistani civilians are also thought to 474 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:33,040 Speaker 1: have lost their lives as a direct result of the war. 475 00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:42,840 Speaker 1: This episode was written by Richard McLain Smith Unexplained as 476 00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:47,200 Speaker 1: an AV Club Productions podcast created by Richard McLain Smith. 477 00:34:47,880 --> 00:34:51,160 Speaker 1: All other elements of the podcast, including the music, are 478 00:34:51,200 --> 00:34:55,839 Speaker 1: also produced by me Richard McClain smith. Unexplained. The book 479 00:34:55,880 --> 00:34:59,279 Speaker 1: and audiobook, with stories never before featured on the show, 480 00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:03,840 Speaker 1: is now available to buy worldwide. You can purchase from Amazon, 481 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:08,920 Speaker 1: Barnes and Noble, Waterstones and other bookstores. Please subscribe to 482 00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:12,160 Speaker 1: and rate the show wherever you get your podcasts, and 483 00:35:12,239 --> 00:35:14,560 Speaker 1: feel free to get in touch with any thoughts or 484 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:18,400 Speaker 1: ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show. Perhaps 485 00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:20,880 Speaker 1: you have an explanation of your own you'd like to share. 486 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:25,000 Speaker 1: You can find out more at Unexplained podcast dot com 487 00:35:25,040 --> 00:35:28,759 Speaker 1: and reach us online through Twitter at Unexplained Pod and 488 00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:33,640 Speaker 1: Facebook at Facebook dot com, Forward Slash Unexplained Podcast