http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6-3I9JHllc&feature=player_embedded
I wonder if this video clip will be in the new series...
Here, soldiers return to RESTREPO after a few days R&R. It’s a 2-hour climb straight up the mountain - is you watch, you can see the valley far below.
This little clip tells a big story. It shows the isolation of the the little fire base...as Sebastian explained it: “We were, essentially, on Mars.” (For most of the deployment, they had no running water, no heat, no facilities of any kind - under almost daily firefights and ambushes on patrol to/from villages.)
Cunningham was know for carrying the heaviest of loads to bring back precious treats for the Brothers. The little black dog, “Airborne”, provided a tiny respite of humanity. (When they rotated back to base for a few days of R&R, the first thing they was burn their ripped up, shot up, dirt/sweat encrusted uniforms.
Listening to the background noise of the Muslim call to prayer and realizing they had that going on 5 times a day, starting at four in the morning, along with all the rest, (over a thousand firefights, highest losses, etc., in what was called “The Most Dangerous Place on Earth: - you get just a tiny glimpse.
The simple folding chair was a major treat - a step up from sitting on rocks.
Fortunately, this day, they weren’t fired on.
Through it all, they never lost their sense of humor...
Here’s another bit of humor in the valley. the firebase was so remote, the only way of getting supplies to them was air drop.
these drops often missed the tiny base and landed in the valley making it necessary to go outside the wire to retrieve. this put them in extra danger from attacks and the loads, if they could retrieve them before the Tallies or villagers got them - were too heavy to hike up the mountain. They rented donkeys to pack ‘em up to base.
this sometimes resulted in some humorous moments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_nXt-t9R5g