Friday, January 01, 2010

The Soldiers Memorial to Their Fallen:

Michael Yon has been spending time with the US Army 1-17th Infantry Battalion, 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division much of it at a the small base at Arghandab in Afghanistan, which sits on the bordeline of 'friendly' and 'enemy' territory.

His blog article on New years Eve 2009 entitled: Into Thine Hand I Commit My Spirit is dedicated to a Memorial Tepee that has been erected just next to the Chapel. Inside the tepee are 21 photos of 21 soldiers killed during the first months of a year-long tour of duty. Michael has illustrated his article with a series of extremely evocative photographs, most of which were taken at night. Whilst I urge you to read the Article, I could not resist including three of the Photographs (I just hope he doesn't mind):


Mostly there is silence.

Sometimes the soldiers walk by carrying lights that are red or green, or sometimes white. Tonight, Cobra Battery was firing illumination rounds from the cannons, which boom from the darkness, arcing a round into the night, where miles away a canister unsheathes, and the parachute opens, and brightness floats silently, shimmering over the valley where these soldiers died.


Soldiers put cigarettes in front of each photo, though they say that many of the fallen did not smoke.

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