1 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:14,000 Speaker 1: Daud watched nervously as the choppers descended from out of 2 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: the dawn sky, their giant blades thrumming ominously as they 3 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:22,320 Speaker 1: dropped closer to the ground, kicking up dust and beating 4 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:27,440 Speaker 1: back the green shoots of wheat now oscillating wildly before him. 5 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:30,720 Speaker 1: He turned sharply and made a quick retreat back into 6 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:35,280 Speaker 1: his house, bolting the door behind him. Then, peering out 7 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:38,400 Speaker 1: from the corner of a window, he watched as the 8 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:42,240 Speaker 1: first pair of camel colored combat boots hit the floor, 9 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: soon followed by numerous others, and prayed to Allah that 10 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: he would be left alone. Moments later, there came a loud, 11 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:57,640 Speaker 1: insistent knock at the door. The men, he assumed were 12 00:00:57,680 --> 00:01:02,200 Speaker 1: Americans strangers, the people he'd been warned not to co 13 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,520 Speaker 1: operate with. They were joined at the door by a 14 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:10,000 Speaker 1: more familiar face, who put the stranger's short, insistent words 15 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: into Pashtu so that he could understand their demands. But 16 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: Daoud was finding it hard to concentrate, too distracted by 17 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:22,759 Speaker 1: the service rifles in their hands. Just a few weeks ago, 18 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:26,840 Speaker 1: men not unlike these killed a ten year old boy 19 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: in Daoud's village. Just another of the tens of thousands 20 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:34,039 Speaker 1: of Afghan civilians that would fall victim to a war 21 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 1: of which they had no control. Caught in the cross 22 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:43,039 Speaker 1: fire between Taliban insurgents and the invading US and British forces, 23 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:48,200 Speaker 1: while Daoud in his own home did his best not 24 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: to seem guilty of anything. The interpreter explained that the 25 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,760 Speaker 1: soldiers wanted to use his home for the next few weeks, 26 00:01:55,800 --> 00:01:58,920 Speaker 1: adding that they would pay good money for it, but 27 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:02,720 Speaker 1: Daoud couldn't possibly agree. If word got out to the 28 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 1: Taliban that he'd taken money from Americans, the consequences would 29 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:12,600 Speaker 1: not be worth thinking about. Captain john Way's son sighed 30 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:16,359 Speaker 1: and looked about at his men, who were growing evermore skittish, 31 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:20,079 Speaker 1: stood out in the open, each passing second bringing them 32 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:24,679 Speaker 1: closer to the possibility of death. He and his men 33 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: were Marines, members of the second Battalion, eighth Regiment, newly 34 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 1: arrived in the region after spending two months acclimatizing at 35 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:37,160 Speaker 1: Camp leather Neck, the Marines primary base in Helmand Province 36 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:41,920 Speaker 1: in South Afghanistan. The unit formed a handful of the 37 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:45,520 Speaker 1: four thousand new troops sent into Helmand as part of 38 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:49,040 Speaker 1: Operation Kanjar. The latest roll of the Dice in the 39 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:53,080 Speaker 1: US government's efforts to neutralize the Taliban's grip on the region. 40 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: It was July twenty oh nine, and with all things 41 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: going to plan, the war would be all but over soon. 42 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: Daoud's village, Shades, was one of many similar sized rural 43 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:17,680 Speaker 1: communities clustered around the Helmand River in the Gamsa district 44 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 1: of Helmand. Although surrounded on all sides by endless miles 45 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: of desert, here the land was rich and green, quite 46 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: different to how many of the Marines had imagined Afghanistan 47 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:33,960 Speaker 1: to look. To some, it reminded them of the verdant 48 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:38,480 Speaker 1: countryside that surrounded their training base in North Carolina, though 49 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 1: they were under no illusions of just how far from 50 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:46,000 Speaker 1: home they really were. Out of the twenty most dangerous 51 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:50,680 Speaker 1: districts of Afghanistan, according to the US military, nine were 52 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:54,560 Speaker 1: located in Helmand Province, being as it was a vital 53 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: asset for the Taliban on account of the vast, sprawling 54 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 1: poppy fields that also mind the banks of the Helmond River. 55 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:07,080 Speaker 1: The fields, which they cultivated for opium to help fund 56 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:11,000 Speaker 1: their operations, had flourished thanks to an extensive canal and 57 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 1: irrigation system that had been constructed back in the nineteen 58 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:18,840 Speaker 1: fifties and sixties, largely with the help of significant US 59 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:23,640 Speaker 1: government investment. The system had even been partially designed by 60 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:27,839 Speaker 1: the company Morrison Knudson, perhaps better known for building the 61 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: Hoover Dam and the San Francisco Bay Bridge, just one 62 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:36,680 Speaker 1: of the many ironies that characterized this most messy of wars. 63 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:41,359 Speaker 1: The attempt to commandeer Daoud's home was part of a 64 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 1: new tactic to go from village to village, setting up 65 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: out posts and establishing a visible presence throughout the region 66 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:53,080 Speaker 1: to try and root out any Taliban strongholds while simultaneously 67 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:56,720 Speaker 1: engaging with the local population in the hope of winning 68 00:04:56,760 --> 00:05:01,800 Speaker 1: their support. For those like Daou, it is a fraught existence, 69 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:05,520 Speaker 1: struck between the harsh authority of the Taliban and the 70 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:10,839 Speaker 1: ambiguous motives of the invading forces. For those like Captain's 71 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: Son and his men, it is just the beginning of 72 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:17,839 Speaker 1: what must seem an impossible task, the first of many 73 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:20,919 Speaker 1: they will face together in the next seven months of 74 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:26,720 Speaker 1: their deployment. On this occasion, it ends with Daoud being 75 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 1: forced to give up his home for at least the 76 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:32,839 Speaker 1: next two weeks. After local elders convince him to hand 77 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:38,080 Speaker 1: over his property. Daoud has barely finished loading the last 78 00:05:38,120 --> 00:05:41,560 Speaker 1: of his possessions onto a cart when the Marines move in. 79 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:46,920 Speaker 1: He doesn't take the money, telling them instead to make 80 00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:49,080 Speaker 1: it known that he had no choice in the matter, 81 00:05:49,960 --> 00:06:00,880 Speaker 1: and in many ways he didn't. Not far from Shades, 82 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:04,600 Speaker 1: another unit from the second and eighth are undertaking their 83 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:09,440 Speaker 1: first patrol outside the wire. Among them is twenty year 84 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:14,559 Speaker 1: old Lance Corporal Charles Seth Sharp, Hailing from the town 85 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:18,919 Speaker 1: of Adairsville in northwestern Georgia, Sharp had been motivated to 86 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: join the Marines, partly in an effort to bring structure 87 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:25,120 Speaker 1: and focus to his life and to make his family proud, 88 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:28,880 Speaker 1: but mostly by a desire to fight for those who 89 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:33,599 Speaker 1: couldn't fight for themselves. While stationed in a rack the 90 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:37,280 Speaker 1: year before, Sharp made a strange request to his family, 91 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:41,279 Speaker 1: asking them to send him coloring books and crayons for Christmas. 92 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:45,479 Speaker 1: As he explained to his bemused parents, he wanted to 93 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:47,919 Speaker 1: give them to all the kids he'd met throughout his 94 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 1: time there. Only a few days before heading out on patrol, 95 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:56,760 Speaker 1: Sharp had written a letter to his grandmother telling her 96 00:06:56,839 --> 00:06:58,919 Speaker 1: that he was about to take part in a mission 97 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:02,040 Speaker 1: that his grand children would learn about in history class, 98 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: but Sharp would never live to have grandchildren. That morning, 99 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:11,080 Speaker 1: on his first patrol, his unit came under attack, and 100 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:13,560 Speaker 1: he was shot in the neck by an unseen shooter 101 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 1: and died soon after, becoming the first US casualty of 102 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:24,320 Speaker 1: Operation Khanjar. For many in the second Battalion and eighth Regiment, 103 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 1: the time spent in Camp leather Neck had been a 104 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:32,200 Speaker 1: frustrating one. All cooped up together under one giant tent 105 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 1: nicknamed the Circus Tent. Having trained for months building themselves 106 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:41,280 Speaker 1: up for action, the last thing they wanted was to 107 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 1: be sitting around kicking their heels in the desert. Sharp's 108 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:48,880 Speaker 1: death was a harsh wake up call to the reality 109 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:52,480 Speaker 1: of combat and a brutal reminder of the true nature 110 00:07:52,720 --> 00:07:56,880 Speaker 1: of the battle they were engaged in. The Taliban were 111 00:07:56,920 --> 00:08:00,240 Speaker 1: not a simple enemy to be routed and crushed through 112 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 1: sheer might and will. There were no military compounds to 113 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:09,560 Speaker 1: storm or governments to overthrow. Theirs was a much longer game, 114 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:15,120 Speaker 1: characterized by stealth than surprise. Their presence felt not by 115 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:19,000 Speaker 1: what you did see, but what you didn't. A movement 116 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:22,560 Speaker 1: in the tree line up ahead, or the improvised explosive 117 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:26,920 Speaker 1: device buried six inches under the ground and primed to kill, 118 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:31,040 Speaker 1: And even when they did finally make their presence known, 119 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:36,160 Speaker 1: they could just as quickly disappear, like phantoms, back into 120 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:41,360 Speaker 1: the landscape, each member often indistinguishable to the Marines from 121 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:45,880 Speaker 1: the many other people whose land they now stalked. As 122 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:50,240 Speaker 1: one Taliban commander was often fond of saying, the Americans 123 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:56,280 Speaker 1: might have the watches, but they had the time. Of 124 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:59,679 Speaker 1: all the conflicts in recent years, it is little wonder 125 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:04,120 Speaker 1: that from out of this one tales of ghosts would emerge. 126 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:14,760 Speaker 1: You're listening to Unexplained and I'm Richard McClean smith. If 127 00:09:14,760 --> 00:09:18,120 Speaker 1: you're an entrepreneur or independent professional, now it's the time 128 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:21,160 Speaker 1: to accelerate ahead of all your competitors, and I want 129 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:24,040 Speaker 1: to help you do just that. I got together with Proton, 130 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:26,920 Speaker 1: an app based all in one tool for small businesses, 131 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:29,839 Speaker 1: and we're announcing an incredible free offer. 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The 147 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:38,680 Speaker 1: small group of marines stamped their feet to keep warm 148 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:42,520 Speaker 1: as a hazy, pale sun crept up over the makeshift 149 00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:47,080 Speaker 1: walls of Patrol Base Hassanabad, a rudimentary settlement on the 150 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:51,200 Speaker 1: outskirts of Hassanabad Village that was comprised of little more 151 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:55,680 Speaker 1: than giant reinforced sacks of gravel and a few canvas tents. 152 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:00,559 Speaker 1: On the orders of their sergeant, the eight men, comprising 153 00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:05,160 Speaker 1: a unit from Golf Company, second Battalion, eighth regiment jumped 154 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:08,960 Speaker 1: into the waiting armored trucks and sat anxiously as the 155 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:14,080 Speaker 1: gate was opened. Moments later, they were out beyond the 156 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:18,080 Speaker 1: perimeter wall, huddled together with the nervous energy of the 157 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:22,480 Speaker 1: recently deployed, the prospect of hitting an ied and ever 158 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:27,360 Speaker 1: constant in their minds. For some, this was little more 159 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:31,600 Speaker 1: than routine. For others, like twenty two year old Lance 160 00:11:31,679 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 1: Corporal Adam Wilson, this was their first assignment beyond the wire. 161 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:41,080 Speaker 1: Wilson looked out through the truck's dusty window at the 162 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:45,520 Speaker 1: alien landscape beyond, a mix of scrub and wheat fields, 163 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:49,240 Speaker 1: a far cry from his home city of Xenia, Ohio, 164 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:54,760 Speaker 1: while up above, a compatriot tended the truck's single machine gun, 165 00:11:55,200 --> 00:12:00,280 Speaker 1: surveying the horizon for any signs of a threat. Thank fleet, 166 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:03,240 Speaker 1: with only a few hundred meters to travel, it wasn't 167 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:06,880 Speaker 1: long before they arrived at their destination, the trucks skidding 168 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:09,960 Speaker 1: to a stop beside what looked like little more than 169 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:14,400 Speaker 1: a huge pile of mud. After quickly vacating the vehicle, 170 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:17,360 Speaker 1: the men took a moment to survey the place they 171 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:20,680 Speaker 1: would be calling home for the next sixty days, a 172 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:24,520 Speaker 1: small outpost set up about twenty meters high on the 173 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:29,840 Speaker 1: top of a strange dirt hill designated Observation Point Rock, 174 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:40,840 Speaker 1: or simply the Rock. Being the highest point for some 175 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:44,719 Speaker 1: considerable distance, the rock was an obvious place to put 176 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:48,720 Speaker 1: an observation post from which any incoming enemies could be 177 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:52,120 Speaker 1: spotted long before they had time to reach the patrol base. 178 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:57,079 Speaker 1: Despite its relative closeness to the base, the facilities were 179 00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:01,400 Speaker 1: basic at best, with no electricity, running water, or even 180 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:05,160 Speaker 1: beds to sleep in. As such, it was necessary to 181 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:09,040 Speaker 1: maintain a steady rotation of personnel to occupy the post. 182 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:14,400 Speaker 1: Feeling thoroughly exposed and with the heat already beginning to rise, 183 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:17,880 Speaker 1: the Marines quickly made their way to the shelter of 184 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:22,440 Speaker 1: the compound above, where they were greeted by its outgoing occupiers, 185 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:27,439 Speaker 1: a group of Welsh guards from the British Army. Lance 186 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:31,240 Speaker 1: Corporal Wilson couldn't help contrasting the fresh faces of his 187 00:13:31,280 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 1: fellow Marines with this tired, despondent group of men hastily 188 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:41,920 Speaker 1: packing their bags, evidently in a hurry to vacate the place. Meanwhile, 189 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:46,200 Speaker 1: Corporal Jacob Lna, the units second in command, made his 190 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:49,400 Speaker 1: way along one of the few shallow trenches that had 191 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:52,400 Speaker 1: been carved out of the mound and surveyed the scene. 192 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:56,520 Speaker 1: The post was centered around a single machine gun that 193 00:13:56,640 --> 00:13:58,880 Speaker 1: poked out of a small hutch on the west side 194 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:02,800 Speaker 1: of the hill. Some old magazines were littered about the place, 195 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:06,320 Speaker 1: while the remnants of a small homemade jim could just 196 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:12,240 Speaker 1: be glimpsed from underneath some camouflage netting. Just then, Lina 197 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:15,240 Speaker 1: was startled by the bark of a dog, which revealed 198 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:20,480 Speaker 1: itself moments later, eager to meet the new arrivals. As 199 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:23,560 Speaker 1: one of the British soldiers explained, it was a local 200 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:29,000 Speaker 1: stray that adopted. Calling it ugly Betty, Lina promised to 201 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:33,400 Speaker 1: look after it for them. Ordinarily, this would be the 202 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:36,280 Speaker 1: point at which the previous group took a moment to 203 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:40,440 Speaker 1: go over a few details about the local landscape, sniper 204 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:43,560 Speaker 1: spots to look out for, or any individuals they might 205 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:47,000 Speaker 1: want to be suspicious of, but the Welsh guards offered 206 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:51,400 Speaker 1: no such courtesy, preferring simply to clear out as quickly 207 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:55,920 Speaker 1: as possible. There was one piece of advice, however, that 208 00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:59,880 Speaker 1: they were willing to impart should the men dig any 209 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:03,920 Speaker 1: it might be best to put it back where they 210 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:14,400 Speaker 1: found it. The Marines soon made themselves busy settling into 211 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:17,000 Speaker 1: their new home as they quickly got down to the 212 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:20,640 Speaker 1: business of determining sentry shifts and figuring out the most 213 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:26,160 Speaker 1: comfortable places to get some sleep. With temperatures routinely hitting 214 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,720 Speaker 1: close to forty degrees celsius, finding ways to stay in 215 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:34,040 Speaker 1: the shade would also be vital. As the last of 216 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:37,840 Speaker 1: that first day's light ebbed away and the hazy, pink 217 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:41,240 Speaker 1: and bluish hues of dusk descend it, the men could 218 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:44,560 Speaker 1: be thankful to have made it through the day without incident. 219 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:50,040 Speaker 1: That evening, Corporal Lena took first watch at the machine gun, 220 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:54,160 Speaker 1: gazing out at the complicated mix of homes, fields and 221 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:58,200 Speaker 1: fir trees dotted before him, the shadows growing longer and 222 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:03,520 Speaker 1: longer before dissolving momentarily, only to later re emerge under 223 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:07,800 Speaker 1: the gentle light of the moon. Not far to the south, 224 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,440 Speaker 1: Lina could just make out the old, rusted shells of 225 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:16,000 Speaker 1: two Soviet era tanks half buried in the earth, remnants 226 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:20,440 Speaker 1: of a past both distant yet inextricably linked to Lena's 227 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:24,520 Speaker 1: own presence. Thirty years later and only a few hundred 228 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:29,360 Speaker 1: meters away. The tanks were as alien to this landscape 229 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:32,320 Speaker 1: as Lina was, each of them brought here by the 230 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:36,680 Speaker 1: same winds that had left so many unwitting people sprawling 231 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:41,840 Speaker 1: in its wake. Lina scanned back across the fields, almost 232 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:45,000 Speaker 1: willing for something to happen, doing his best to stop 233 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:49,040 Speaker 1: his mind from wandering. It was always difficult being on 234 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:52,640 Speaker 1: watch in such places of isolation, trying to tow the 235 00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:57,440 Speaker 1: line between staying alert to any possible threat while simultaneously 236 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:00,960 Speaker 1: trying your hardest not to allow the ability of such 237 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:05,960 Speaker 1: a threat to overwhelm you. Lena was just eyeing the 238 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:09,160 Speaker 1: lip of a nearby ditch when a burst of static 239 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:12,879 Speaker 1: blared out of the outpost's radio, causing him to jump, 240 00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:18,520 Speaker 1: catching himself. Lena turned to face it, anticipating an imminent 241 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:23,160 Speaker 1: communication from the patrol base. Then the radio crackled again, 242 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:28,280 Speaker 1: a muffled voice just about audible swimming around in the 243 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:32,240 Speaker 1: thick of it. Lena grabbed the device and fiddled with 244 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:36,560 Speaker 1: the controls, switching it back to the required frequency. He 245 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:39,360 Speaker 1: called up the bass and asked them to repeat the message, 246 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:43,240 Speaker 1: but the voice at the other end was confused. They 247 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:48,280 Speaker 1: hadn't sent a message. Lena looked again at the radio, 248 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:52,840 Speaker 1: then apologized for wasting the bass operator's time and turned 249 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:58,920 Speaker 1: back to the gun. Moments later, the radio crackled into 250 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:05,200 Speaker 1: life again, and once again Lena heard that strange muffled voice. 251 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:10,800 Speaker 1: Listening closer, he soon realized it wasn't speaking in English, 252 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:16,199 Speaker 1: it was speaking Russian. Perhaps the radio was picking up 253 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:20,040 Speaker 1: someone else's transmissions, he thought, giving the radio a thump. 254 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:31,040 Speaker 1: Or perhaps he was simply imagining things. It took me 255 00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:33,280 Speaker 1: a long time to realize that it isn't the bed 256 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:36,400 Speaker 1: or even the mattress necessarily that makes for the perfect 257 00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:40,160 Speaker 1: sleeping experience. It's the sheets. I might not be sure 258 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:43,440 Speaker 1: of much in life, but this I can guarantee you 259 00:18:44,119 --> 00:18:46,280 Speaker 1: that feeling when you get home from a stay at 260 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:49,160 Speaker 1: your parent's house or a night at a fancy hotel. 261 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:52,240 Speaker 1: If you're so lucky and your bed just doesn't feel 262 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:56,160 Speaker 1: the same, I'm telling you now, it's the sheets. Recently, 263 00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:58,320 Speaker 1: I was lucky enough to get a set of sheets 264 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:00,520 Speaker 1: from Ball and Branch, and if it wasn't for the 265 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:02,840 Speaker 1: fact that I have to wash them from time to time, 266 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:06,640 Speaker 1: I'd never take them off. 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You can try them worry free 273 00:19:28,359 --> 00:19:31,240 Speaker 1: for thirty nights with free shipping and returns, and my 274 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:34,320 Speaker 1: listeners can get an exclusive fifteen percent off your first 275 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:37,639 Speaker 1: set of sheets with promo code unexplained that Ball and 276 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:42,040 Speaker 1: Branch dot com. That's Ball and Branch bo ll and 277 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:52,080 Speaker 1: Branch dot com. Promo code unexplained. Over the next few days, 278 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:55,320 Speaker 1: with little else to do with their time, the marines 279 00:19:55,359 --> 00:20:00,040 Speaker 1: attention soon turned to fortifying their position. Most pressing of 280 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:02,600 Speaker 1: all was the fact that, with the exception of a 281 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:07,639 Speaker 1: few well placed sandbags, nowhere offered significant safety from most 282 00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:11,959 Speaker 1: potential lines of enemy fire. Though some trenches had been 283 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:15,360 Speaker 1: dug in and around to compound, none were deep enough 284 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:19,560 Speaker 1: to bring you lower than the parapet without crouching, And 285 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:23,080 Speaker 1: so it was one morning that Corporal Lena and Lance 286 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:27,560 Speaker 1: Corporal Wilson along with one other compatriot, began the arduous 287 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:33,480 Speaker 1: task of rectifying the situation. The clatter of shovels scraping 288 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:36,840 Speaker 1: dirt rang out through the camp as the men battled 289 00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:40,600 Speaker 1: against the rock hard ground and the ever rising temperatures. 290 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:45,119 Speaker 1: As Wilson paused for some water, Lena dug his shovel 291 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:48,280 Speaker 1: in once more, only for it to clang against something 292 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:52,560 Speaker 1: buried a few inches under the surface. Lena threw down 293 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:55,919 Speaker 1: his shovel and pulled a thin, tangled strip of metal 294 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:59,240 Speaker 1: from the ground. Then he blew off the dirt and 295 00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:02,960 Speaker 1: held it up to the light. It was hard to 296 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:06,320 Speaker 1: tell what it was exactly, an old piece of shrapnel, 297 00:21:06,359 --> 00:21:11,280 Speaker 1: most likely, suggested Wilson. Lena nodded in agreement as he 298 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:14,240 Speaker 1: tried to read some strange markings that had been etched 299 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:19,080 Speaker 1: onto the side of it. It looked like syrillic. He 300 00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:22,879 Speaker 1: thought back to that strange radio transmission from the night before, 301 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:26,520 Speaker 1: but thought better of telling Wilson about it lest he 302 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:31,159 Speaker 1: sound like he was going crazy. Half an hour later, 303 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:33,919 Speaker 1: with the men having hardly made a dent in the trench, 304 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:38,200 Speaker 1: Wilson slammed his shovel into the ground, unearthing a small 305 00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:43,439 Speaker 1: sunken space about two feet wide beyond it. Spotting something 306 00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:47,480 Speaker 1: within it, Wilson reached inside and pulled it out, then 307 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:51,960 Speaker 1: recoiled in horror. It was unmistakably the leg bone of 308 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:56,480 Speaker 1: a human. Wilson's colleague grabbed it from him and goofed 309 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:59,600 Speaker 1: around with it, but neither Wilson or Lena saw the 310 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:03,840 Speaker 1: funny side. Remembering suddenly those final words the British had 311 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:07,320 Speaker 1: said to them, if you dig anything up, you should 312 00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:12,000 Speaker 1: probably make sure to bury it, Lena grabbed the bone 313 00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:16,520 Speaker 1: and put it back where Wilson had found it, having 314 00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:20,639 Speaker 1: got back to the task at hand. Moments later, Wilson 315 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:26,399 Speaker 1: found another fragment of bone. Then Lena did too. In fact, 316 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:31,159 Speaker 1: the more they digged, the more bones they uncovered. It 317 00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:34,879 Speaker 1: soon became clear why the previous occupants had preferred not 318 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:39,360 Speaker 1: to dig any deeper. They were camped on a graveyard. 319 00:22:46,359 --> 00:22:49,360 Speaker 1: As news of the gruesome discovery made its way through 320 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:51,640 Speaker 1: the group, it was hard not to be a little 321 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:55,760 Speaker 1: unsettled by it. Even in the height of war, such 322 00:22:55,800 --> 00:23:00,600 Speaker 1: things rarely fail to make the skin crawl. Perhaps it 323 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:03,320 Speaker 1: was all the talk of the bones, or perhaps it 324 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:06,840 Speaker 1: was the strange remoteness of the location and the unending 325 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:10,320 Speaker 1: cycle of boredom that comes with occupying such a post. 326 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:14,560 Speaker 1: Either way, something of the place was beginning to seep 327 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:20,760 Speaker 1: into the men. Two weeks later, Corporal Austin Hoyte celebrated 328 00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:25,159 Speaker 1: his twentieth birthday. That night, it was his turn to 329 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:29,960 Speaker 1: take machine gun duty. Growing up on a farm back 330 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:32,720 Speaker 1: in the States, he was used to the quiet and 331 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:35,359 Speaker 1: had thought nothing of being stationed out at the rock 332 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:40,000 Speaker 1: for sixty days. But back home the quiet was something 333 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:44,480 Speaker 1: to be cherished and revered. Here it was only ever 334 00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:48,639 Speaker 1: a vacuum for the worst thoughts to infiltrate. It was 335 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:52,240 Speaker 1: a quiet that spoke not of wistful hopes and dreams, 336 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:57,280 Speaker 1: but only of things lying in wait. When suddenly the 337 00:23:57,359 --> 00:24:03,399 Speaker 1: quiet was broken by horrifics, Hoyt scrambled for his night 338 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:09,000 Speaker 1: vision binoculars and scoured the perimeter fencing below, assuming someone 339 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:12,560 Speaker 1: had been caught in the razor wire, But the fencing 340 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:17,680 Speaker 1: was completely empty and untouched. Luring the binoculars to the ground, 341 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:21,560 Speaker 1: Hoyt gasped at the sight of a large humanoid shadow 342 00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:27,200 Speaker 1: darting out across a nearby field. Moments later, it was gone. 343 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:32,879 Speaker 1: Just then, Wilson and Lena burst into the machine gun post, 344 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:36,960 Speaker 1: clutching their M four rifles. They'd heard the scream two. 345 00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:41,159 Speaker 1: With no choice but to head out and investigate, the 346 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:44,000 Speaker 1: three of them cautiously made their way to the perimeter 347 00:24:44,119 --> 00:24:48,480 Speaker 1: fencing and stepped out beyond the wire. But after a 348 00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:53,080 Speaker 1: thorough scout of the surrounding area, the men found nothing. 349 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:04,920 Speaker 1: After only four weeks. Lance Corporal Zolnick can't quite put 350 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:07,879 Speaker 1: his finger on it, but it's clear that something in 351 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:12,200 Speaker 1: the mood of the men has shifted. Taking machine gun 352 00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:15,200 Speaker 1: watch that night, as all the stars of the desert 353 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:18,560 Speaker 1: emerged one by one from out of the sky, he 354 00:25:18,680 --> 00:25:21,879 Speaker 1: soon finds his mind wandering to thoughts of family and 355 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:26,040 Speaker 1: loved ones back home. Phoning home is a rare event 356 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:29,600 Speaker 1: at the best of times for military personnel, but being 357 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:32,440 Speaker 1: stationed out here, it will be months before he is 358 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:36,000 Speaker 1: able to speak to any of them again. For many 359 00:25:36,119 --> 00:25:39,840 Speaker 1: service personnel posted all over the world far from home, 360 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:43,520 Speaker 1: especially with so many being barely out of their teens 361 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:47,000 Speaker 1: and in young relationships and marriages, it can be all 362 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:50,800 Speaker 1: too easy to let the separation eat you up, and 363 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:54,399 Speaker 1: equally so for those left back at home, whether in 364 00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:58,760 Speaker 1: loving relationships or deteriorating ones. Not knowing if they might 365 00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:03,640 Speaker 1: ever speak to their parts or relatives again, many preferred 366 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:06,520 Speaker 1: not to call home at all to avoid the pain 367 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:10,320 Speaker 1: of hearing their loved one's voices. Others are reluctant to 368 00:26:10,359 --> 00:26:13,840 Speaker 1: make any promises of future calls, just in case they 369 00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:18,439 Speaker 1: are unable to fulfill it. Zolnick took a swig of 370 00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:21,719 Speaker 1: water to perk himself up, and slapped away at another 371 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:25,560 Speaker 1: giant moth that was buzzing about his head, when suddenly 372 00:26:26,119 --> 00:26:30,160 Speaker 1: he felt the unmistakable sensation of a cold breeze across 373 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:34,639 Speaker 1: his face, followed by what sounded like a voice whispering 374 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:38,960 Speaker 1: to him from out of the darkness. Zolnick spun round, 375 00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:44,399 Speaker 1: looking about. Who's there, he said, but there was no reply. 376 00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:48,520 Speaker 1: It was only then that he noticed just how cold 377 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:52,760 Speaker 1: the air had suddenly become, and then the whispering voice 378 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:57,879 Speaker 1: came again. Zolnick jumped, God, damn it, that isn't funny, 379 00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:03,480 Speaker 1: he said, still looking about. Then the sound of footsteps approached, 380 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:08,000 Speaker 1: crunching in the dirt outside. Zolnick froze at the sound 381 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:10,879 Speaker 1: of them as they drew near, then moved up to 382 00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:13,960 Speaker 1: the top of the mound above the machine gun post. 383 00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:18,240 Speaker 1: Assuming with relief that one of his colleagues had finally 384 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:21,639 Speaker 1: come to join him, Zolnick grabbed his m fore and 385 00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:26,080 Speaker 1: ran out of the hutch. Hoyt, is that you, he said, 386 00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:28,439 Speaker 1: as he looked up to the top of the mound, 387 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:34,040 Speaker 1: but no one was there. Doing his best to suppress 388 00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:38,280 Speaker 1: the rising fear, Zolnik ran back inside and pointed his 389 00:27:38,359 --> 00:27:40,679 Speaker 1: gun toward the stretch of land at the base of 390 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:43,840 Speaker 1: the mound and hurriedly scanned it back and forth through 391 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:48,600 Speaker 1: his thermal scope, when suddenly he spotted the white thermal 392 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:52,160 Speaker 1: outline of a figure standing about a hundred yards from 393 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:57,800 Speaker 1: the outpost. Moments later, Lance Corporal Hoyt arrived to relieve 394 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:01,480 Speaker 1: Zolnik of his duty, finding him clearly rattled by something. 395 00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:06,280 Speaker 1: That someone there, insisted Zolnick, but when he looked again, 396 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:10,560 Speaker 1: the figure was gone. Hoyt took a look through his 397 00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:14,240 Speaker 1: own scope and then through the night vision binoculars, but 398 00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:19,679 Speaker 1: saw nothing. I guess they're gone now, said Hoyt, before 399 00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:22,880 Speaker 1: patting Zolnick on the shoulder and telling him to get 400 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:30,800 Speaker 1: some sleep. Is there something interfering with your happiness or 401 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:34,240 Speaker 1: preventing you from achieving your goals. Better help will assess 402 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:37,360 Speaker 1: your needs and match you with your own licensed professional therapist. 403 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:40,440 Speaker 1: Sign up today and start communicating in less than forty 404 00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:44,040 Speaker 1: eight hours. You'll get timely and thoughtful responses. 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This podcast is 414 00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:16,520 Speaker 1: sponsored by better Help and Unexplained. Listeners get ten percent 415 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:19,600 Speaker 1: off their first month at better help dot com. Forward 416 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:25,400 Speaker 1: slash unexplained that's better help dot com. Forward slash Unexplained 417 00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:28,320 Speaker 1: joined the over one million people taking charge of their 418 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:32,080 Speaker 1: mental health with the help of an experienced professional. Better 419 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:35,120 Speaker 1: Help wants you to start living a happier life today. 420 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:44,720 Speaker 1: Over the next few days, Zolnick seemed unable to shift 421 00:29:44,760 --> 00:29:49,680 Speaker 1: something from his mind. With his condition rapidly deteriorating, the 422 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:54,960 Speaker 1: sergeant made the decision to have him transferred out. As 423 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,480 Speaker 1: one day bled into the next, the men on the 424 00:29:57,560 --> 00:30:00,640 Speaker 1: rock seemed to become more and more unten that from 425 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:05,280 Speaker 1: the stritches of life on Patrol Base Hassanabad. Beards were 426 00:30:05,360 --> 00:30:08,480 Speaker 1: left unshaven as some of the men took to sitting 427 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:13,280 Speaker 1: about shirtless in the oppressive desert heat. It was sometime 428 00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:17,360 Speaker 1: around thirty days into their posting that Corporal Lena was 429 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:20,120 Speaker 1: back on night watch at the machine gun, with ugly 430 00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:24,280 Speaker 1: Betty sat by his side to keep him company. It 431 00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:27,960 Speaker 1: had just passed one thirty am when Betty sat up 432 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:33,360 Speaker 1: suddenly and began barking furiously into the night. Lena grabbed 433 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:38,000 Speaker 1: the night vision binoculars and scanned the fields below. As 434 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:42,280 Speaker 1: Betty's barks grew louder and more insistent, Lena caught sight 435 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:46,200 Speaker 1: of a figure dressed in pera Hanno tumban about two 436 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:50,400 Speaker 1: hundred meters away, standing completely still, that appeared to be 437 00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:55,719 Speaker 1: staring directly at him. Lena grabbed hurriedly for his thermal 438 00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:59,680 Speaker 1: scope to pinpoint the figure's position, but when he looked again, 439 00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:05,080 Speaker 1: the figure had gone, taking the night vision binoculars again, 440 00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:08,560 Speaker 1: he gasped at the sight of the same person, now 441 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:13,000 Speaker 1: standing a hundred meters closer on the verge of firing 442 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:16,520 Speaker 1: a warning shot. Lina grabbed his m for and looked 443 00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:20,240 Speaker 1: down the thermal scope to find the figure again, but 444 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:26,280 Speaker 1: once more they had completely vanished. In a panic, Lina 445 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:29,080 Speaker 1: was just about to alert the others when he felt 446 00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:32,440 Speaker 1: the heavy tap of fingers on his shoulders. The sergeant's 447 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:36,840 Speaker 1: signaled to let him know that he is standing behind him. 448 00:31:36,960 --> 00:31:40,959 Speaker 1: With a sigh of relief, Lina spun around, only to 449 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:46,160 Speaker 1: find that he was completely alone. In horror, he grabbed 450 00:31:46,160 --> 00:31:50,080 Speaker 1: once more for the night vision binoculars and hurriedly scanned 451 00:31:50,080 --> 00:31:54,680 Speaker 1: the surrounding area as Betty continued to bark, But once 452 00:31:54,720 --> 00:32:06,280 Speaker 1: again Lena found nothing. Despite his fears that he'll be 453 00:32:06,360 --> 00:32:10,520 Speaker 1: judged but best unfit for duty and at worst insane, 454 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:16,640 Speaker 1: After forty days of strange, inexplicable experiences, Corporal Lena finally 455 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:20,440 Speaker 1: decides to confide in his colleagues, telling Wilson and Hoyt 456 00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:24,840 Speaker 1: about everything that had been going on. Having expected them 457 00:32:24,840 --> 00:32:27,520 Speaker 1: to poke fun at him, it is with some surprise 458 00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:30,640 Speaker 1: when both of them revealed that they too, had been 459 00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:36,480 Speaker 1: experiencing ghostly, inexplicable events. Then Hoyt thought back to the 460 00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:40,520 Speaker 1: night that Zolnick had seemed so spooked right before he 461 00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:45,120 Speaker 1: decided to transfer out. Clearly it had been happening to 462 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:50,200 Speaker 1: him to the men agreed to keep it between themselves 463 00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:53,000 Speaker 1: for the time being, eager to see out the remainder 464 00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:55,600 Speaker 1: of their posting and get back to the main base. 465 00:32:56,680 --> 00:32:59,480 Speaker 1: Through it all, they could be grateful for making it 466 00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:05,040 Speaker 1: through scathed, with or without the mysterious goings on. On 467 00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:08,040 Speaker 1: their last night at the post, it fell to Lance 468 00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:12,040 Speaker 1: Corporal Wilson to tend the machine gun. Sat up there 469 00:33:12,080 --> 00:33:15,960 Speaker 1: alone in the cool night air, Wilson repeat it over 470 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:19,520 Speaker 1: and over to himself that it was just one more night, 471 00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:24,240 Speaker 1: and by tomorrow it would all be over. No more 472 00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:28,640 Speaker 1: whispering voices, no more ghostly figures glimpsed out of the 473 00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:33,240 Speaker 1: corner of his eyes. When suddenly all hell broke loose. 474 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:37,960 Speaker 1: Wilson barely had time to react as the cacophonous sound 475 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:42,280 Speaker 1: of machine gun fire rang out all around him. Stumbling 476 00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:45,600 Speaker 1: back into the hutch, he was joined almost immediately by 477 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:48,840 Speaker 1: Corporal Lena, yelling for him to tell him where the 478 00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:53,200 Speaker 1: fire was. Coming from, but Wilson didn't know it all 479 00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:57,480 Speaker 1: happened so fast. Then an almighty woosh went up into 480 00:33:57,480 --> 00:34:00,920 Speaker 1: the air, the sound of a rocket propelled grenade being 481 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:05,560 Speaker 1: launched close by. Lena shouted for Wilson to get down, 482 00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:12,360 Speaker 1: and together they braced for impact, and then nothing, only 483 00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:16,040 Speaker 1: the silence of the desert save for the melancholic ring 484 00:34:16,320 --> 00:34:21,600 Speaker 1: of a distant cowbell. Wilson and Lena staggered to their feet, 485 00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:34,479 Speaker 1: utterly confused, and stared out into the night. After sixty days, 486 00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:39,960 Speaker 1: Corporal Jacob Lena, Lance Corporal Adam Wilson, and Lance Corporal 487 00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:44,800 Speaker 1: Austin Hoyt returned to patrol Base as Sanabad and rejoined 488 00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:48,960 Speaker 1: the rest of their compatriots from second Battalion, eighth Marine Regiment. 489 00:34:50,200 --> 00:34:54,920 Speaker 1: All three of them returned home alive. Others, however, who'd 490 00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:57,880 Speaker 1: spent time with them on the rock, were not so lucky, 491 00:34:58,640 --> 00:35:02,480 Speaker 1: leaving Lena to wander that perhaps it was their uncovering 492 00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:05,360 Speaker 1: of things in the earth there that had placed a 493 00:35:05,400 --> 00:35:09,680 Speaker 1: curse on them In many ways. However, the men had 494 00:35:09,719 --> 00:35:12,520 Speaker 1: been cursed a long time before they ever made it 495 00:35:12,719 --> 00:35:16,879 Speaker 1: to Observation Point Rock, caught up in an unwinnable war, 496 00:35:17,520 --> 00:35:21,840 Speaker 1: their valiant efforts forever fated to be beaten back against 497 00:35:21,840 --> 00:35:27,520 Speaker 1: a complex tide of history and circumstance. By the time 498 00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:30,040 Speaker 1: the reports of the strange goings on at the Rock 499 00:35:30,239 --> 00:35:33,360 Speaker 1: were first published in a twenty oh nine Times article 500 00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:37,400 Speaker 1: written by Tom Coglan, the rumors were old news among 501 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:40,040 Speaker 1: many of the troops that had the misfortune to come 502 00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:44,120 Speaker 1: by it, and over time a picture began to emerge 503 00:35:44,160 --> 00:35:49,120 Speaker 1: of oblique and haunting history. One local scholar suggested that 504 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:52,520 Speaker 1: the hill had once been an ancient fort built some 505 00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:55,560 Speaker 1: time in the eighteenth century, under which a series of 506 00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:59,920 Speaker 1: tunnels had been constructed, before later becoming a sacred shrine 507 00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:03,840 Speaker 1: to many of the local communities. At some point in 508 00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:06,920 Speaker 1: the nineteen eighties, it is thought to be occupied by 509 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:10,160 Speaker 1: soldiers from the Soviet Union, who fought a long and 510 00:36:10,239 --> 00:36:14,960 Speaker 1: bitter battle alongside the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, the 511 00:36:15,080 --> 00:36:18,400 Speaker 1: ruling power at the time, against a number of militia 512 00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:23,279 Speaker 1: groups intent on overthrowing them. Some claim that early in 513 00:36:23,280 --> 00:36:28,000 Speaker 1: the conflict, Nasim A Kunzada, the fearsome commander of one 514 00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:32,239 Speaker 1: such militia group, captured the rock along with the soldiers 515 00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:35,920 Speaker 1: occupying it, and had them more beheaded on the spot 516 00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:41,160 Speaker 1: than later buried where they fell. Others have suggested they 517 00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:46,840 Speaker 1: were in fact members of the Afghan Police Force in time, 518 00:36:47,400 --> 00:36:51,160 Speaker 1: helped with funding from the United States government, who, like 519 00:36:51,239 --> 00:36:54,680 Speaker 1: the Soviet Union, were keen to be the dominant influence 520 00:36:54,760 --> 00:36:59,040 Speaker 1: over the area. The Soviet Union and the PDPA were 521 00:36:59,080 --> 00:37:04,480 Speaker 1: eventually defeated by the militia forces. By then, however, those 522 00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:09,040 Speaker 1: forces had merged into a fragile coalition, often lumped together 523 00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:14,160 Speaker 1: under the term Mujahadeen. It is from this group of people, 524 00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:19,120 Speaker 1: in one way or another, that Osama Bin Laden Al Qaeda, 525 00:37:19,560 --> 00:37:24,480 Speaker 1: and ultimately the Taliban would emerge, and well, you know 526 00:37:24,600 --> 00:37:30,440 Speaker 1: the rest. In the Soviet Afghan War of nineteen seventy 527 00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:34,440 Speaker 1: nine to nineteen eighty nine, it is estimated that around 528 00:37:34,560 --> 00:37:39,479 Speaker 1: fifteen thousand Soviet soldiers were killed, with anywhere between half 529 00:37:39,520 --> 00:37:43,400 Speaker 1: a million to two million Afghans also thought to have 530 00:37:43,480 --> 00:37:49,920 Speaker 1: been killed. Since two thousand and one, war in Afghanistan 531 00:37:50,040 --> 00:37:53,120 Speaker 1: has claimed the lives of roughly two hundred and fifty 532 00:37:53,239 --> 00:37:58,439 Speaker 1: thousand people, among them four hundred and fifty seven UK 533 00:37:58,680 --> 00:38:03,120 Speaker 1: Armed Forces personnel and two thousand, three hundred and seventy 534 00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:09,280 Speaker 1: two US military personnel. An estimated seventy one thousand Afghan 535 00:38:09,360 --> 00:38:12,680 Speaker 1: and Pakistani civilians are also thought to have lost their 536 00:38:12,680 --> 00:38:24,680 Speaker 1: lives as a direct result of the war. If you 537 00:38:24,760 --> 00:38:27,520 Speaker 1: enjoy Unexplained and would like to help supporters, you can 538 00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:30,799 Speaker 1: now do so via Patreon. To receive access to add 539 00:38:30,880 --> 00:38:34,560 Speaker 1: three episodes. Just go to patron dot com Forward Slash 540 00:38:34,640 --> 00:38:38,839 Speaker 1: Unexplained Pod to sign up. Unexplained, the book and audiobook, 541 00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:41,960 Speaker 1: featuring ten stories that have never before been covered on 542 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:45,560 Speaker 1: the show, is now available to buy worldwide. You can 543 00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:50,000 Speaker 1: purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Waterstones, among other bookstores. 544 00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:54,520 Speaker 1: All elements of Unexplained, including the show's music, are produced 545 00:38:54,520 --> 00:38:57,800 Speaker 1: by me Richard McClain smith. Please subscribe and rate the 546 00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:00,759 Speaker 1: show wherever you listen to podcasts, and feel free to 547 00:39:00,800 --> 00:39:03,360 Speaker 1: get in touch with any thoughts or ideas regarding the 548 00:39:03,440 --> 00:39:06,120 Speaker 1: stories you've heard on the show. 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