From the WSJ,

For five years, U.S. troops fought their way up and down the cedar-studded slopes of the Korengal Valley. The ferocity of the fighting inspired a videogame scenario, thrust the remote valley into the media glare, and famously forced a soldier to fight in his underwear. In all, 42 U.S. troops have been killed here.

On Wednesday, the fight for Korengal officially ended when the final U.S. soldiers were airlifted from a ridge above this collection of stone buildings, sandbagged bunkers and jury-rigged plumbing built up on the grounds of a former lumber mill. The Americans pulled out because they determined that instead of bringing a measure of stability to Korengal, they had largely proven “an irritant to the people,” said the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

Korengal Valley

The Korengal Valley has been one of the thorniest spots in Afghanistan. Regardless of the stated reasons for leaving, I can’t help but think the enemy will view this as a victory. They outlasted the infidels, and will still be there.

Here are previous posts I’ve done on the Korengal Valley. Included among them is the story ABC’s Nightline did¹, and the article the New York Times did².

• Korengal Valley photo essay
• Welcome Home, 173rd
• IEDs and the Korengal Valley
• More on the Korengal Valley²
• The 173rd in Kunar Province¹
• A war with teeth
• With the Taliban
• The Korengal Valley

Update: As I was saying…

…the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month…

morning colors aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (US Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua Wahl)

The day job runneth over again, so in lieu of a roundup, here are a few photos from Afghanistan…

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A Guardsman shouts information back as the men of 7 Platoon, 2 Company, 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, go through a compound assault [Picture: Corporal Dan Bardsley RLC, Crown Copyright/UK MOD 2009

Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force Two at the foothills of the Zhar Ghar mountain range prepares to roll out on patrol in the Baluchi valley. (photo from Australia DoD)

A U.S. Marine talks with village elders through interpreters while on patrol in the small town of Dahanah neighboring Now Zad in Helmand province, Afghanistan, June 25, 2009. Marines, assigned to Gulf Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, engage in firefights in Now Zad on a regular basis, but also focus on improving the quality of life for civilians in neighboring towns. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)

U.S. Marines with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 3, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, along with approximately 650 Afghan soldiers and police officers from the Afghan national security force, prepare to board CH-53D Sea Stallion and CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters at Forward Operating Base Dwyer, Afghanistan, July 2 (photo by Philippe E. Chasse)

I wrote this several years ago, and it has to come to serve as my yearly D-Day tribute. Whether it is the 65th anniversary, or the 265th anniversary, that day will always be remembered.

How many times have I heard an athlete praised for exhibiting courage? This kind of grandiloquence is especially prevalent in football.

Numerous awards throughout college and professional football list courage as one of the traits they recognize. It is said it takes courage for a player to play with injuries, and to play through pain. It is said a team shows courage in mounting a game-winning drive in the last minutes. It is said a quarterback displays courage in standing in to throw a pass knowing he is about to be knocked silly by a linebacker.

I would humbly suggest we ought to be more careful in the way we use certain words.

The recent movie Saving Private Ryan is one that should be seen by every adult American at least once. The movie depicts the D-Day landings and the kind of action that typified the following days. It is a visceral and brutal homage to the sacrifices made by so many young men in the service of their country.

Scenes at the beginning and end of the movie take place in the American cemetery near Colleville-sur-mer. The cemetery sits right on the bluffs above Omaha Beach, looking down on what was Easy Red sector. The name was half right.

My wife and I visited this cemetery a few years ago. What a solemn experience. After leaving the bus in the parking lot, we passed through a protective ring of trees, and there came upon row after row after row of gleaming white crosses and Stars of David. Nearly 10,000 are buried in this cemetery, which is laid out in the form of a Latin cross.

The grounds are immaculate. The hedges are neatly trimmed, the grass carefully clipped, the water in the reflecting pool clean. The serene beauty of that hallowed place is a seductive contrast to the unspeakable ugliness that laid those men in their graves.

We walked the paths, and looked down on the beautiful beach, and I thought what a debt we owe. So many of my fellow Americans went through such anguish and terror just to stand where I was standing then. And this cemetery represents just one small corner of the war, the casualties from a few weeks of fighting in NW France. How many other battlefields are there? How many other wars have there been in our history? How many other cemeteries are there that hold the remains of soldiers that fought so I wouldn’t have to?

As the vivid colors of the present pale into shades of gray, as memories of the deeds of generations of American soldiers gently fade into the past, may we never take for granted the freedom we enjoy in this country. May we always remember the price so many paid for that freedom.

I don’t deny it takes willpower and discipline for a football player to limp out onto the field with a sprained ankle and play with the pain. But the next time you are on your comfortable couch and you hear such a performance described as courageous, just remember what happened on a Norman beach that Tuesday morning in June 1944.

After hours at sea, thousands of young men climbed over the side of their transports, and in the pitching seas descended into the landing craft. When the boats reached the shore, the ramps went down, and the world those soldiers knew changed forever.

Many were shot down before they even left their boats. Many drowned in the ocean under the weight of their equipment. Machine guns, mortar shells, and German artillery turned Omaha Beach into a killing field. Bodies and pieces of bodies were everywhere. Those who saw Omaha later that day said they could almost walk across the beach without touching the sand.

But those who survived the initial hell made their way across the beach to take shelter at the seawall and beneath the cliffs. Wet, cold, many of them wounded, without a coherent command structure, the broken bodies of their comrades and brothers all around; those soldiers could have given up. They didn’t. In small groups they blew holes in the wire, made their way through minefields, climbed the bluffs and secured the beachhead.

That is courage.

I noted the similarity in these two photos…

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates hosts an honor cordon arrival ceremony for Georgian Defense Minister Vasil Sikharulidze at the Pentagon, Jan. 8, 2009 (photo by Cherie Cullen)

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, right, escorts Bulgarian Minister of Defense Nikolay Tsonev through an honor cordon into the Pentagon to discuss bilateral defense issues, Feb. 4, 2009. (photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Molly A. Burgess)

President Bush was at Ft Campbell today. He was there to thank the troops, and to reflect on their success. You can see video of his remarks here. This is an excerpt of his text. The following photo was taken by someone I know who was there.

Thank you. Please be seated – unless, of course, you don’t have a seat. (Laughter.) I am honored to be here at Fort Campbell. (Applause.) I’m honored to be with the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne – (applause) – the Night Stalkers of the 160th – (applause) – the Green Berets of the 5th Special Forces Group – (applause) – all members of the Fort Campbell community. (Applause.) You are part of the finest military in the world. I have one word for you: Hooah! (Applause.)
…
In Iraq, Afghanistan, and beyond, our men and women in uniform have done everything we have asked of them and more. You’ve earned the thanks of every American.

You know, this is going to be my last Thanksgiving as President. Sometimes I am asked what I will miss most about the job. Well, above all, I’m going to miss spending time with men and women who have volunteered to serve the United States of America, the fine men and women who wear the uniform. We are blessed to have defenders of such character and courage. I’m grateful to the families who serve by your side. And I will always be thankful for the honor of having served as the Commander-in-Chief. (Applause.)

So Laura and I wish you and your families a safe and happy Thanksgiving. We join you in praying for our troops spending the holiday far from home. We pray for those who’ve been wounded in battle, and for all who love and care for them. We hold in our thoughts and prayers the brave men and women who have given their lives, and the families who mourn for them. We ask the Almighty to watch over everyone who puts on the uniform, and has volunteered to serve this great land.

President Bush at Ft Campbell

Yesterday the Boston Globe had an exceptional photo essay by John Moore on the Korengal Valley. It’s well worth a look. (h/t Memeorandum)

Yesterday was Veteran’s Day (or Armistice or Remembrance Day, depending on where you live), a day set aside to honor those who have served in the military. Today, on the day after, it seems appropriate to share some photographs of U.S. soldiers currently in the thick of war in Afghanistan. Getty Images photographer John Moore spent some time recently in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley, near the Pakistani border, with Viper Company of the 1-26 Infantry, and brought back these images, documenting what he saw. The final two photographs do not involve Korengal, but are striking examples of these difficult and complex times, and the sacrifice of one American family.

Here are previous posts I’ve done on the Korengal Valley. Included among them is the story ABC’s Nightline did¹, and the article the New York Times did².

• Welcome Home, 173rd
• IEDs and the Korengal Valley
• More on the Korengal Valley²
• The 173rd in Kunar Province¹
• A war with teeth
• With the Taliban
• The Korengal Valley