Ep 4. In the Valley of Death

The Long Road Home is a captivating American television series based on a 2007 book of the same name by Martha Raddatz. The series dramatizes real-life events that happened during a US Army unit’s deployment to Iraq in 2004. The unit has been subjected to a severe attack and their families back home are worried about their safety. The fourth episode of season one titled In the Valley of Death takes the viewer through dramatic moments of the attack and its consequences.

In the previous episode, soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Division from Fort Hood were ambushed in the middle of the Sadr City by the Iraqi Mahdi militia. This episode begins with the aftermath of the ambush. The soldiers have been scattered, shot, and injured all over the city. Amidst deadly crossfires and the aversion of the locals, the Iraqi police come to their rescue. Discovering that Jassim, an Iraqi translator, is missing sends a shock through the ranks of the American soldiers.

The episode then switches from the streets of Iraq to a conference room in the Pentagon. Colonel Volesky, the commanding officer, is summoned there for an official debriefing with the top brass. He provides detailed information about the attack, the soldiers' witnesses' observations, and the general status of the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment. His briefing reverberates the extent of the attack, bringing the severity back home.

In the streets of Sadr City, the fighting continues. Some of the soldiers who had escaped capture and treatment at the Sadr City medical center crawl back to their base with the help of the Iraqi army. They recount the details of the horrific events they witnessed and the fearsome death rattles from men they lost. The fear in their voices is evident, and one cannot help but empathize as they battle with recuperating from the traumatic experience that came along with the unexpected attack.

Throughout the episode, the importance of engaging with the locals in Iraq was emphasized. This is exemplified in the story of Zara, a little girl who finds a lost dog, and unknowingly drags him through a dangerous part of town. Against the advice of their higher-ups who said that it was too dangerous, soldiers from 1st Cavalry Division decided to track the dog. It led to them into a dark alley, where they found the girl and her dog, traumatized by the sounds of war around them. They managed to return the dog to safety and then sneak the girl back to a checkpoint where her grateful mother awaited.

The importance of communication was another key theme in this episode. It is worth noting that early in the episode, Captain Troy Denomy and Jassim were in a car with a bomb, and the captain was trying to defuse it. The captain instructed Jassim on how to defuse the bomb, but the language barrier made communication problematic. The situation escalated when Jassim froze, not sure what to do. The captain was then shot multiple times before the bomb could be defused.

The 1st Cavalry unit is faced with several challenges that weigh heavily on them. Captain MacKenzie's marriage is strained as he tries to balance his allegiance to his wife and his call of duty. He contemplates confessing to his wife about his infidelity during his overseas deployment. On the other hand, young soldiers are scared for their lives as they learn of the current situation, and the uncertainty of whether they'll make it out alive hangs over their heads.

In conclusion, the fourth episode of season one of The Long Road Home, titled In the Valley of Death, brings to life the horrific and traumatic events that soldiers faced during the attack in Iraq. We see the fear and struggles of soldiers trying to reconcile their duties and personal lives. From the streets of Iraq to the Pentagon, the episode showcases the challenges of communication and cultural differences, creating a well-rounded look at the deployment and the aftermath of an onslaught.