Congress on Tuesday posthumously bestowed its highest honor on the 13 American service members killed in a terror bombing at Kabul’s airport during the US’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Lawmakers gathered in the Capitol Rotunda with the weeping families of the fallen heroes for the awards ceremony — which came on the heels of a blistering House report on the US withdrawal.
“I know many of you have yet to hear these words, so I will say them — we are sorry. The United States government should have done everything to protect our troops,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said.
“Those fallen and wounded at Abbey Gate deserved our best efforts,” he said, referring to doomed spot where the Americans were killed in the Aug. 26, 2021 suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport.
“The families who have been left to pick up the pieces continue to deserve transparency and appreciation,” Johnson said.
The other three congressional leaders — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). — were on hand for the solemn event, as were Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), who helped introduce legislation to award the Gold Medal.
Some of the pols embraced the Gold Star family members presenting the moving honor.
The 13 fallen service members were Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, Cpl. Hunter Lopez, Cpl. Daegan W. Page, Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, Navy Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak and Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss.
ISIS-K claimed credit for the horrific bombing that also killed an estimated 169 Afghan civilians.
“A big part of us died with our children on August 26, 2021,” said an emotional Coral Doolittle,the mother of Sanchez. “We deeply appreciate the efforts of Congress and the Speaker of the House for making this moment possible.”
“Thank you from all 13 families.”
Kin sat in front of photos of their lost loved ones. Many wept during the ceremony.
The ceremony came two days after the House Foreign Affairs Committee released a roughly 350-page report detailing its findings on the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan that saw the Taliban roar back to power.
The scathing report blasted President Biden and his administration’s handling of the withdrawal, concluding that he was so hellbent on the move that he ignored advice from military leaders, NATO allies and top Afghan officials warning against it at the time. The panel’s findings accused the administration of prioritizing optics and failing to prepare for basic aspects of the withdrawal.
Johnson, during Tuesday’s ceremony, assured the Gold Star family members that “you are not alone in shouldering the burdens from that day” and stressed that “we can never fully measure your loss.”
Jefferies said, “The 13 heroes we are honoring here today represent the best of America.
He lauded the fallen 13 for serving with “tremendous valor.
“No honor can truly repay the incredible sacrifice made by our fallen,” the House minority leader said.
Daines said, “It was their duty to serve. It is our duty to remember.”
McConnell went through the names of the fallen to recount who they were as people and their service to the country.
Schumer took note of how “some were even younger than the war in Afghanistan itself.
“It now falls on us — to all of us gathered here under the dome of Lady Liberty — to ensure the sacrifices of all our service members were not in vain,” Schumer stressed.
“We must care for them and their families and defend the values of freedom and democracy they so nobly fought for.”
About 2,500 US service members were killed and more than 20,000 wounded during the roughly two-decade war in Afghanistan.
The Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony at the Rotunda came just one day before the nation marks the 23-year anniversary of the tragic Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack that killed almost 3,000.
