Abdul Atah Wahedi’s journey from a remote mountain village to the battlefield and finally to a desperate escape as the Taliban closes in
“Abdul Atah’s service and sacrifice for America makes a moving and meaningful story. His dedication to our nation—its ideals of freedom and justice—should reaffirm our own.” — United States Senator Richard BlumenthalThe story of Abdul Atah Wahedi, his enduring faith in Islam, his love for his family, and his service as a combat interpreter with the American Special Forces and Navy SEALS during America’s war in Afghanistan.This story begins in the 400-year-old village of Mata in the Panjshir Valley and spans more than three decades, moving from Abdul’s earliest memories of life, to the drowning death of his brother in the Panjshir River, the ten-year Russian invasion of Afghanistan and his family’s escape to the caves of the Hindu Kush mountains, to his life on the battlefield, his marriage, and finally his escape to America.Wounded twice in service of America, Abdul is one of America’s unknown heroes, but to the Taliban he is considered the “Voice of the Infidel.” As America began to exit Afghanistan, Abdul, hunted by the Taliban, must flee with his wife and family, but his escape is blunted by the closure of the American embassy during COVID. With less than a handful of days before his SIV visa and the visas of his family are about to expire, the mother of Abdul’s former commanding officer intervenes. Abdul had been wounded in the attack that killed her son, a Special Forces captain. Working with an American senator, she orchestrated Abdul’s harrowing escape to America with his wife and children, getting them out with only hours to spare.An intimate view into the compellingly simple way of life in the most remote villages of Afghanistan, and the heroic, beautiful life of an Afghan man, and his service to America.
