The Hill: A Memoir of War in Helmand Province

by Aaron Kirk

"We were chasing ghosts in killing fields, where adolescence ended and the war began."



A captivating account of the deeply personal experience of modern combat and the raw, unfiltered reality of enlisted Marine Corps life.



At twenty-one years old, Lance Corporal Aaron Kirk found himself in charge of a Marine infantry squad at one of the most austere patrol bases in all of deadly Helmand Province, Afghanistan. A desolate place, on the edge of the American military empire. A place without comfort or a clear mission known simply The Hill.



With unique perspective and intensity, Aaron Kirk tells the story of his time as a Marine during the height of the U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan. On the pristine beaches of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii and in the training areas of Twentynine Palms, California, Kirk searches for elusive brotherhood and belonging. On two deployments to Helmand Province, he grapples with combat and leadership.



During his time as a squad leader in Garmsir district, Kirk's squad occupies a forlorn and austere location called Patrol Base KT-4-or more simply, The Hill. Fighting the elements, the enemy and themselves, the grunts of third squad drift further from the unwritten strictures of the Marine Corps as they embrace danger, isolation and misery. Meanwhile, Kirk battles his own shortcomings and fear of failure as he struggles to keep his men alive against an enemy who watches their every move without revealing himself.



Following the author's odyssey from civilian to Marine and back again, The Hill is a definitive account of modern Marine Corps culture and

an essential meditation on the universal truths, emotions, and costs of the Longest War.

Genres: Nonfiction

328 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 5, 2021

About the author

A lifelong writer, Aaron Kirk served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps infantry from 2008 to 2012, deploying twice to Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He participated in Operation Moshtarak and conducted counterinsurgency operations in Nawa, Marjah and Garmsir district. The Hill is his first book.

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to know what it's like to be a 20 year old Marine in a 21st century war, this is the book. Aaron Kirk writes a honest and fascinating account of what being a young Marine is really like, the idealism, the comradeship and the heartbreak. Afghanistan was an exception in Marine deployments. Marines are trained to gain ground, not to hold it. But in 2008 when Kirk joined Maines were being trained in huge numbers. America was involved in 2 wars and was losing Afghanistan. That situation changed thanks to the sacrifices of thousands of young Marines like Kirk who took back Helmand province in a huge surge. It's hard to remember it now, but it did happen.

Kirk gives us the view from the weeds, the details of Marine life and finally, the wrenching adjustment returning to a country that views 22 year olds as barely more than children. How does one go from protecting a team of Marines in a dangerous country to say, selling cell phones? How do you explain this experience to people who barely know we were at war?

Kirk takes you into the world of these young vets. We can't thank them enough, but just as important more of us should read books like this so we know what war is really about.

[Tyler Huffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most gripping memoirs of war that I can recall reading. Having served in Kunar Province as an infantryman around the time this young Marine was in country, I could relate to the experiences and “rituals” he talks about. The infantry is a culture and life unto itself. You can only understand it having lived through the suffering that it brings on. Corporal Kirk does an excellent job conveying these experiences through simplistic prose. He stirred up feelings and emotions that I had not thought about in quite some time. He sums up the current generations struggle with war and how we experienced it.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the regular grunt's war in Afghanistan. These are kids, the Millennials that take so much criticism, forced to grow up too fast, and shoulder too much.

This isn't another "special ops"/Navy SEAL story. It's the war that the vast majority of troops experienced. Ambiguous, infuriating, utterly draining.

It's also the story of the author's journey from kid to Marine, to combat leader, and beyond.

If you want to better understand the young men and women who fought America's recent wars, read this book.

[Carolyn Strength · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will never forget this book.

This book has taken me on an important journey. I started reading books written by our veterans a long time ago because I wanted to better understand what our military men and women have gone through in service of our country. I have learned so much. Then I find this book and now I can't find the words I want to say. Aaron Kirk's book is probably the best memoir I have read. It comes from his heart and I will remember him and all the men he served with. Thank you, Aaron. Thank you.

[Douglass Hoover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aaron Kirk delivers a brutally honest take on the experience of being a Marine infantryman tasked with holding southern Afghanistan. The story recounted in these pages will be relatable to every grunt who spent months caked in Helmand moon dust, and the manner in which Kirk delivers it will keep you turning the pages. Looking forward to more from this author.

[Marisa Von Holten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aaron Kirk does a phenomenal job of telling the experience of “our” war, and his war and her war. While not the average veteran’s experience (see, “grunt” & “separate degrees of war”), it is still bound to take you back to a place you never called home, yet hold a permanent spot for in your memories.

[a.t.m. · Rating 5 out of 5]

outstanding book by a marine veteran

This book describes in detail the life of a grunt in war and the sacrifices that are required to complete the mission that is asked of them. This book is Pulitzer Prize quality. The author has written a book that puts him on a level of Michael Herr and Marlantes in describing the pure emotional experience of young men fighting and dying. His description of his survivors guilt is painful and oh, so real. I highly recommend this book and I wish him and his fallen comrades and their families, peace. As well as all those that survived their time fighting the taliban and the Marine Corps leadership.

[Joe Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book. You are there with the author as he is there on The Hill leading his young squad of Marines. Does not romanticize combat nor the challenges that some young Marines face as they enter the Fleet Marine Forces.

[Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing truth

Everything no one ever says…in a book that makes your eyes open at what these men and women do and have done . One of the best down range books I’ve ever read…and I read a lot from every war. Thanks Aaron

[Andrew Massi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great job

This book punched right in the feels, easy reading and a great summation of the oddities that made up the gwot

[ed houdek · Rating 2 out of 5]

not what I thought

Way to touchy and feely for my taste but I must say it is well written and reminiscent of poetry

[Brent Cheetham · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needs a heavy edit. Reads like poetry, in a bad way.

[Robert Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is remarkable, the most engaging and informative treatise about the experiences of a Marine platoon. The brutality of war and the brutality of those trying to survive as a platoon at a forward operating base while trying to live up to Honor Guard requirements imposed by remote higher levels in the chain of command ego-centric posers. Honest insight into the dysfunctionality of military prosecution of the war in Afghanistan.