America Mourns
“It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.” – General Norman Schwarzkopf Jr.
As America’s withdrawal continues in Afghanistan, the terrorism reason we were there in the first place (remember September 11, 2001?) raised it ugly head and brought out suicide bomber(s) to the Kabul Airport.
Refugees, fleeing the country while America’s military members worked to move as many people as possible through checkpoints, desperately climbed onto airplanes trying to reach safety beyond that rugged land.
From the Washington Post:
A suicide bomber detonated explosives at a Kabul airport gate where U.S. troops were searching evacuees rushing to depart the country. At least 18 other troops were wounded in the bombing that killed at least 170 people and the 13 U.S. service members. The attack was the single deadliest enemy strike against U.S. forces in Afghanistan since August 2011, when militants shot down a Chinook helicopter, killing 30 U. S. troops on board.
Here are the names of those 13 service members….
- Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Tex.
- Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole Gee, 23, of Roseville, Calif.
- Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, 31, of Utah
- Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tenn.
- Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, Calif.
- Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, 20, Jackson, Wyo.
- Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
- Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, 20, of Norco, Calif.
- Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan William-Tyeler Page, 23, of Omaha
- Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario, 25, Lawrence, Mass.
- Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto Sanchez, 22, Logansport, Ind.
- Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, 20, of Wentzville, Mo.
- Navy Hospital Corpsman Max Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio
Learn more about these young Americans with a glimpse into their lives here, here, and here.
ISIS-K took credit for the suicide bombing but who are they? From CBS News:
An affiliate of ISIS, the group that spread into northern Iraq from Syria six years ago and once controlled territory roughly the size of Britain, ISIS-K first emerged in Pakistan around the same time, in 2015. Its members have come from other Pakistani militant groups, including disillusioned Taliban fighters.
“What ISIS-K did was lure disaffected others,” said Seth Jones, director of the transnational threats project at the Center for Strategic International Studies.
Its members generally hold the view that members of the Taliban are impure and not extremist enough. ISIS-K is also known for its fanaticism, and is more brutal than the Taliban.
May God bless our U.S. military members for their service to the nation, and may he bless their families and friends as they face the sad days ahead. Freedom is not free.
