The decisions that led to the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal in August 2021 are being investigated by Congress and debated in contentious campaigns, but for one day—or one morning, anyway—Capitol Hill paused to praise and honor 13 young Americans who gave their lives protecting the defenseless.
During a Sept. 10 ceremony in the cathedral-somber Capitol rotunda, family members of the 11 Marines, their Navy corpsman, and the Army airborne ranger killed in the Aug. 26, 2021, attack at Hamid Karzai Airport’s Abbey Gate were posthumously awarded Congressional Gold Medals, the nation’s oldest, highest congressionally issued honor. George Washington was its first recipient.
The ISIS-K bombing in Kabul also wounded 45 U.S. service members and killed more than 170 civilians, in the waning days of the nation’s 20-year war in Afghanistan.
Examining how it unfolded and who is to blame has been a GOP theme since the party regained the House majority in 2022’s midterms, as well as a campaign pressure point against Democrats, including by former President Donald Trump in his presidential race against Vice President Kamala Harris.
Those questions were laid aside in a ceremony that included rancor-free addresses by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Senate Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), co-sponsors of the bill to award the medal to the 13, and Coral Doolittle, whose son Humberto Sanchez was one of those killed, also spoke.
Johnson, citing John 15:13 from the King James Bible—“no greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”—said the selfless actions of these “13 men and women of valor embodies this love.”
He read their names and apologized to the families.
“We are sorry. The United States government should have done everything it could to protect our troops. Those who fell at Abbey Gate deserved better,” he said.
McConnell offered vignettes that reminded everyone of each service member who stood at Abbey Gate.
Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tennessee, had earned a Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal in Afghanistan deployments with the 82nd Airborne and was the last U.S. Army soldier to die in Afghanistan.
His portrait and a Tennessee Legislature resolution honoring him hang in the lobby at Gibbs High School in his hometown.
Knauss “was a history buff whose wife remembers him as a ‘fixer,’” McConnell said.
Navy Corpsman Maxton Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio, was a high school wrestler and football player proud to be a “devil doc.” His last FaceTime message to his mother told her not to worry. “My guys got me,” he wrote.
Soviak “was a high school football captain with an adventuresome spirit,” McConnell said.
Cpl. Humberto Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Indiana, a rifleman, is cited for remaining at Abbey Gate to aid women and children after being ordered to clear out. The Cpl. Humberto Sanchez AMVETS Post 82621 in his hometown is named for him.
“Bert Sanchez was an exceptional teammate who would leave those he encountered with smiles on their faces,” McConnell said.
Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, California, a rifleman, was an explorer scout and “Star Wars” trivia expert who was forming his own firearms company and planning to be a Riverside County sheriff’s deputy.
Lopez “planned to follow in his parents’ footsteps in a career in law enforcement,” McConnell said.
Cpl. Daegan Page, 23, of Omaha, Nebraska, a rifleman, enjoyed hockey, skateboarding, and fishing. Hundreds lined Omaha’s streets during his funeral procession, led by 200 Patriot Guard Riders on motorcycles.
Page “was an outdoorsman and an animal lover,” McConnell said.
‘They Need Me, Sir’
Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyoming, a rifleman, joined the Marines the day he turned 18 and wanted to become a high school history teacher and wrestling coach. Three weeks after he was killed, his daughter, Levi Rylee Rose, was born.
McCollum “was an expectant father,” McConnell said.
Sgt. Nicole Gee, 23, of Roseville, California, a Marine Corps electronics operative, served on an ad hoc team helping to evacuate women and children. A week before she was killed, she wrote in a social media post, “I love my job.”
Gee “was, in the words of a comrade, ‘a giant, a legend,’” McConnell said.
Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas, a rifleman, was quiet but made it clear from boyhood he wanted to be a Marine. There is a bust honoring him in a library named for him in Laredo, Texas.
Espinoza “was a loyal and caring son who grew up playing with toy soldiers,” McConnell said.
Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah, was on his third Afghanistan deployment. He was an 11-year veteran who will be remembered as a natural-born leader killed while leading.
Hoover “was a proud uncle with a contagious laugh,” McConnell said.
Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, 20, of Norco, California, had wanted to join the Corps since he was 4 and did so at 18 after acing his high school JROTC program as “one of the best-ever” graduates.
Nikoui “was a martial arts champion and a happy-go-lucky kid,” McConnell said.
Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, an amphibious support specialist, was killed assisting two women being trampled by the panicking crowd. Her commanding officer recalled her last words: “They need me, sir.”
Pichardo “was, as a classmate put it, ‘a ray of sunshine,’” McConnell said.
Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, 20, of St. Charles, Missouri, a rifleman, declared he’d be a Marine when he was 8, joining at 18. The Marine Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz Memorial Bridge spanning I-70 in Wentzville, Missouri, is named for him.
Schmitz “was a doting brother and a daredevil with a thirst for life,” McConnell said.
Lance Cpl. Dylan Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, California, a rifleman, had been in Afghanistan for only three days when he was killed. A freeway overpass in Rancho Cucamonga is named in his honor. His brother has also enlisted in the Marines in his honor.
Merola “was a techie for his high school theater program who hoped to study engineering in college,” McConnell said.
Doolittle said: “Our sons and daughters deserve the highest recognition for their courage and sacrifice.
“Ceremonies like this provide a small but meaningful breath of relief in our ongoing journey of grief, reminding us we raise the best and brightest for this country.”
Now, fellow Americans must make sense of their loss and ensure it never happens again, she said.
“Always remember the 13,” Doolittle said. “Say their names, speak their names, and tell their stories.”
From The Epoch Times