To acknowledge the 10th anniversary of Operation Medusa that saw 15 Canadian troops killed in Afghanistan, a soldier who fought in the battle has released a song called Panjwai.
Capt. Ryan Carey decided to write the song as a way to deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and to deal with what he witnessed in the conflict. The song goes through a retelling of his experiences during the operation to take back the Panjwai district from the Taliban.
The song starts with the crossing of the Arghandab River and the following bombardment that left four Canadian soldiers dead. The Taliban were ready for them, and dug in for a fight.
“We drove into a heavily fortified defensive position… we drove into the kill zone,” Carey told CTV News.
Warning: This video contains graphic language
In a journal entry posted on Facebook, Carey described his thoughts as the company moved forward and began hitting mines. Everything erupted quickly, and he wasn’t sure why.
“It’s a terrible feeling not being able to answer nor get an answer for the questions the soldiers under your command have,” he wrote.
The song, and journal entry, goes on to describe the attack happening in the same place that saw four other Canadian soldiers killed a month before. It then describes a British plane that went down while flying reconnaissance, killing all 12 British soldiers on board.
This battle also saw a Canadian soldier die from friendly fire on Sept. 4, 2006 when an American plane mistakenly engaged after Canadian troops had called in air support. Despite the losses, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force vowed the mission would continue and remove the Taliban threat.
In another journal entry, from Sept. 2, 2006, Carey describes how many members of the Taliban were killed that day. According to the Royal Canadian Regiment, they fired hundreds of rounds into the area as helicopters from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom fired rockets at targets.
“The amount of firepower was absolutely awesome and we killed a lot of really bad people that day. And it was horrible. It was really a horrible thing,” Carey wrote in the entry.
Carey hopes that the song will remind Canadians of the sacrifices made during the operation and help other veterans who are struggling to deal with the aftermath of their time in battle.
“I’m hoping that opens their eyes to the history of Afghanistan and what our soldiers went through over there,” said Carey.
The Royal Canadian Regiment fought with the Afghan National Army and United States Special Forces Group against the Taliban. According to the Royal Canadian Regiment, Operation Medusa was the largest Canadian combat operation since the Second World War.
