A suicide bomb at Abbey Gate near Kabul in 2021 killed 13 and injured 32. ‘We call it a big lesson, it won’t happen again,’ said the president.
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump welcomed Gold Star family members into the Oval Office on Aug. 25 for a signing ceremony as he issued a proclamation honoring the lives lost four years ago as the United States withdrew its military from Afghanistan.
“This is a very special group of people. I’ve been with them from the beginning, Trump said during the event.
“They’ve been with me, and I’ve been with them 100 percent, and we meet more than once a year.”
The president recounted a 2023 meeting at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., where he joined the families for a memorial.
“They thought I’d be there maybe for five minutes, maybe not at all, and I showed up for like four hours,” Trump said. “We’re listening to music all night long, and they were all crying because they lost their loved ones.”
A terrorist attack by terror group ISIS-K at Abbey Gate on Aug. 26, 2021, near Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport killed 13 U.S. service members and injured 32 others; 170 Afghan civilians were also killed.
“On one of the darkest days in our Nation’s history, 4 years ago, the gates of hell sprung open when an evil Jihadi terrorist carried out a suicide bombing in Kabul,” said the proclamation.
“We join in grief with the families who senselessly lost a loved one, and we renew our solemn pledge to our 13 fallen patriots—we will never forget you; we will never forsake you; and your memory will live on forever.”
Marine Corps members killed in the attack include Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 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, and Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui.
Also killed were Navy Petty Officer Third Class Maxton W. Soviak and Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss.
“There are some great souls that are looking down on you right now,” Trump told the families.
At least 170 Afghan civilians were hurt when the suicide bomb exploded near a civilian gate.
