In Memorial of the Afghan 13

     The pullout of Afghanistan was one of the biggest failures in military history.
This failure is not on the part of the soldiers but due to the shear incompetence of
those at the very top of the chain of command. What should have been a smooth
and safe operation on the morning of August 26th, 2021 turned into a disaster when
a suicide bomber attacked Abbey Gate of the Hamid Karzai International Airport
in Kabul causing destruction and chaos. This could have been prevented because
moments before the attack, the bomber was spotted on his approach and a request
to neutralize this threat was sent out, but the order wasn’t given. This failure in
command resulted in the deaths of 170 civilians including the deaths of 13 brave
U.S. Military personnel. There were 2,402 deaths of U.S. soldiers killed throughout
the Afghan war and while their sacrifices deserve to be remembered, the deaths of
these 13 were needless and avoidable, but that doesn’t make their sacrifice any less
heroic and we will never forget the names of:
Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, Age 31 from Salt Lake City, Utah.
Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, Age 25 from Lawrence, Massachusetts.
Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, Age 23 from Sacramento, California.
Cpl. Hunter Lopez, Age 22 from Indio, California.
Cpl. Daegan W. Page, Age 23 from Omaha, Nebraska.
Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, Age 22 from Logansport, Indiana.
Marine Corps. Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, Age 20 from Rio Bravo, Texas.
Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, Age 20 from St. Charles, Missouri.
Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, Age 20 from Jackson, Wyoming.
Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, Age 20 from Rancho Cucamonga, California.
Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, Age 20 from Norco, California.
Navy Hospitalman Maxton W. Soviak, Age 22 from Berlin Heights, Ohio.
Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, Age 23 from Corryton, Tennessee.