The names of the Americans who died in Thursday’s terrorist attack on the Kabul airport are starting to come in. In all, 13 Americans died — 11 Marines, 1 Navy corpsman, and 1 soldier.
They are from all over America and of different backgrounds.
One of the casualties is David Lee Espinoza, of Rio Bravo, Texas. He was a 20-year-old Marine.
U.S. Marine Rylee McCollum‘s watch ended in the Kabul attacks. He was from Wyoming and was a father-to-be.
U.S. Marine Rylee McCollum was KIA in Afghanistan yesterday. He graduated high school in 2019 and was three weeks away from becoming a father
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) August 27, 2021
Navy corpsman Maxton Soviak was among the casualties according to the New York Post.
His sister wrote a heart-breaking note about her brother on social media:
he was a f–king medic. there to help people. and now he is gone and my family will never be the same. there is a large Maxton sized hole that will never be filled.” she wrote alongside a slideshow of images showing the two as children.
“he was just a kid. we are sending kids over there to die. kids with families that now have holes just like ours. i’m not one for praying but damn could those kids over there use some right now. my heart is in pieces and I don’t think they’ll ever fit back right again.”
They were infants when the Taliban’s allies, al Qaeda, attacked the United States on September 11, 2001. They gave their lives helping strangers on the other side of the world. The Taliban now control Afghanistan, and Joe Biden’s Pentagon is depending on them for the security of Americans, both civilians and in uniform.
Flags are flying at half-staff across the country. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, an Air Force veteran, has a poignant take on that, which he posted on Facebook Friday.
The Fayette County Courthouse won’t be flying the American flag at half-staff today as ordered by President Joe Biden. Before he was a Judge, my friend Joe Weber was a General in the Marine Corps. He knows the best way to honor the Marines and Navy Corpsman who were killed yesterday in Kabul is to recognize their selfless service and sacrifice by flying Old Glory high and proud. That’s what they would want; that’s what their families would want. We have dipped our colors and bent the knee to terrorists under this Administration. No more, at least not in Fayette County, Texas. Semper Fi
All told, the terrorist attacks in Kabul killed approximately 200 people and injured many more. We will learn the names of the remaining American casualties in the days to come. They were deployed to Kabul to cover for the hasty, irresponsible, humiliating retreat that Joe Biden, who never served in the military, order the Pentagon to carry out.
The Biden administration says more attacks are likely as the evacuation continues.
Update: Kareem Nikoui “always wanted to be a Marine,” according to his father. He died in the terrorist attack in Kabul Thursday.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member