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HONORING THE SERVICE OF THE 13 U.S. TROOPS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES HELPING
OTHERS TO FREEDOM
______
HON. DARRELL ISSA
of california
in the house of representatives
Friday, September 10, 2021
Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, on Thursday, August 26, 2021, as the U.S. military was working to airlift thousands out of Afghanistan amid chaos at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, terrorists murdered more than 180 people including 13 members of the U.S. military there to assist American citizens seeking to come home.
Ten of those 13 U.S. troops were from a single unit at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, just outside my district. Nine of them were Marines, part of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. The tenth was a Navy corpsman attached to that unit. Their stories are now part of the long and valiant history of Camp Pendleton and the 2/1 battalion, known as ``The Professionals.''
The battalion saw combat at Guadalcanal and Okinawa in World War II and fought in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq as well. It helped run a temporary shelter at Camp Pendleton for thousands of Vietnamese refugees following the fall of Saigon in 1975.
In the days since the devastating news of last week's terrorist attack, the local community has embraced the families whose loved ones paid the ultimate price, creating a memorial of flowers and American flags outside Camp Pendleton's main gate in Oceanside.
Five of the marines were only 20 years old, and all but one were under 25. Four were from California.
They died doing an honorable job in an honorable way. As the official Pentagon announcement described it, they were ``supporting non-
combatant evacuation operations.'' In other words, they were helping innocent civilians make it home safely.
In devotion to their country, they were willing to risk their own homecoming to secure a safe homecoming for others. That's selfless service. That's a meaningful life. Their families can be proud of how they lived their brief lives.
While words seem powerless to ease the grief of loved ones suffering such a profound loss, I pray that their families can find some small comfort that a grateful nation honors the service and mourns the loss of these American heroes:
Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover: 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah.
Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo: 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts. Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee: 23, of Sacramento, California.
Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez: 22, of Indio, California.
Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page: 23, of Omaha, Nebraska.
Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez: 22, of Logansport, Indiana.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza: 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz: 20, of St. Charles, Missouri.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. Mccollum: 20, of Jackson, Wyoming.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola: 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, California.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui: 20, of Norco, California.
Navy Hospitalman Maxton W. Soviak: 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio.
Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss: 23, of Corryton, Tennessee.
More than just names on a list, they were each an individual hero who will be missed. The following is some of what has been reported about each of them and their loved ones, according to CBS News:
Navy Corpsman Maxton ``Max'' W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio
Corpsman Maxton ``Max'' W. Soviak played football at Edison High School before graduating in 2017.
``As a football player he was full tilt 100 miles an hour, fearless, which leads you to understand, you know, where he was and what maybe happened,'' Jim Hall, head football coach at Edison, told CBS Cleveland, Ohio, affiliate WOIO-TV.
``It didn't seem real,'' Hall said. ``It still really doesn't, you know, great kid, loved life. He was bright, bright kid, and it doesn't seem right. It doesn't seem fair, you know. I just hope the best for his family.
Soviak joined the Navy after high school graduation.
``He just loved life,'' Edison High School superintendent Thomas Roth told WOIO-TV. ``He was out there and enjoyed things, and he was helpful for others as I think we all can see from what happened yesterday. You know, he was always there to help other people. He wanted to be of service and that's what he did.''
army staff sergeant ryan c. knauss, 23, of corryton, tennessee
Sergeant Ryan C. Knauss went to Gibbs High School before he enrolled in the Army, his family told CBS Knoxville, Tennessee, affiliate WVLT-
TV. Knauss was a member of the Army's 82nd Airborne division and a staff sergeant.
Knauss had only been in Afghanistan for a week before his death but had previously spent nine months in the country, his grandmother told WVLT.
No local funeral arrangements have been made at this time, family members said. Knauss will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
marine corps staff sergeant darin t. hoover jr., 31, of salt lake city, utah
Sergeant Darin Hoover Jr. was on his third tour of duty, his father Darin Hoover Sr. told Salt Lake City CBS affiliate KUTV.
``He led his men, and they followed him, but I know in my heart of hearts he was out front,'' Hoover Sr. said. ``They [his fellow Marines] would follow him through the gates of hell if that's what it took.''
He said the 9/11 terrorist attacks moved his son, who was a child at the time, to vow he'd serve in the military. ``He decided, `That's what I want to do,' '' Hoover Sr. told KUTV.
Hoover Jr., 31, was based at Camp Pendleton in California.
``(He was the) best kid in the world,'' his father said. ``Couldn't ask for any better.''
marine corps sergeant johanny rosario pichardo, 25, of lawrence, massachusetts
Sergeant Johanny Rosario Pichardo was screening women and children at the Abbey gate when the attack took place, according to Marine First Lieutenant John ``Jack'' Coppola. He told CBS News in an email that Pichardo, a supply chief from the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, was a member of the brigade's Female Engagement Team (FET). FETs, he said, are ``volunteer teams of female Marines with the experience and maturity necessary to enable continuity of operations while respecting cultural norms.''
Coppola said Pichardo's service ``was not only crucial to evacuating thousands of women and children, but epitomizes what it means to be a Marine: putting herself in danger for the protection of American values so that others might enjoy them.''
Pichardo is a Lawrence High School graduate and former Bridgewater State University student. She is survived by her mother and sister, CBS Boston reports, and will be laid to rest in Lawrence, where her family lives.
``It was her family's wish that Rosario is remembered and honored as a hero,'' Lawrence Mayor Kendrys Vasquez said Saturday. Bridgewater State University also released a statement saying the ``community is struck with profound grief upon learning of the death of one of our own'' even though Rosario only attended for a semester before committing herself to the Marines.
marine corps sergeant nicole l. gee, 23, of sacramento, california
Marine Corps Sergeant Nicole L. Gee was one of several Marines seen cradling and comforting Afghan children amid evacuations just days before her death. On August 21, Gee posted a photo of herself holding an Afghan child on lnstagram. ``I love my job,'' the 23-year-old Sacramento native wrote.
Gee was sworn into the Marines less than a year ago and was promoted to sergeant three weeks before the Kabul attack, according to posts on her lnstagram account.
Gee was married to a fellow Marine, Jarod Gee, her sister Misty Fuoco said. Nicole posted several lnstagram photos of her and her husband celebrating the holidays and celebrating his own promotion to sergeant just a few months ago.
marine corps corporal hunter lopez, 22, of indio, california
Corporal Hunter Lopez joined the Marine Corps in 2017 and was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, according to a statement released by the Riverside Sheriff's Department.
Lopez, 22, was the son of Riverside Deputy Sheriff Alicia Lopez and Riverside Sheriff's Captain Herman Lopez. He intended to follow his parents into law enforcement after his current deployment and become a Riverside County sheriff's deputy, the department's statement said.
marine corps corporal daegan w. page, 23, of omaha, nebraska
Corporal Daegan Page joined the Marine Corps after he graduated from Millard South High School, according to a statement his family released to local news outlets.
He grew up in Red Oak, Iowa, and the metro Omaha area and was a member of the Boy Scouts. He enjoyed playing hockey and hunting and
``spending time outdoors with his dad,'' the statement said. He loved the Chicago Blackhawks.
Page ``always looked forward to coming home and hanging out with his family and many buddies in Nebraska.'' Once he finished his service in the Marines, he planned to attend a local trade school and perhaps become an electrical lineman, the statement said.
marine corps corporal humberto a. sanchez, 22, of logansport, indiana
Corporal Humberto Sanchez was a 2017 graduate of Logansport High School who played varsity soccer and was on the homecoming court in his senior year, according to the lndyStar.
The school's principal, Matt Jones, told the lndyStar that Sanchez was one of five students in his class who enlisted in the Marines. He remembered Sanchez as ``a bright, athletic young man who was popular, well-liked by his soccer teammates, classmates, coaches, and teachers.''
Logansport Mayor Chris Martin mourned Sanchez's death in a Facebook post Friday.
``This young man had not yet even turned 30 and still had his entire life ahead of him,'' Martin wrote. ``Any plans he may have had for his post-military life were given in sacrifice due to the heart he exhibited in putting himself into harm's way to safeguard the lives of others.''
Indiana Congressman Jim Baird posted his condolences on Facebook, too, saying, ``He bravely answered the call to serve his nation, and I am both proud of his service and deeply saddened by his loss.''
marine corps lance corporal david l. espinoza, 20, of rio bravo, texas
Lance Corporal David Espinoza, 20, was born and raised in Rio Bravo but attended high school in Laredo, CBS Dallas/Fort Worth reports.
Congressman Henry Cuellar released a statement that said, in part,
``Mr. Espinoza embodied the values of America: grit, dedication, service, and valor. Mr. Espinoza is a hero.''
The city of Laredo posted its condolences on Facebook.
marine corps lance corporal jared m. schmitz, 20, of st. charles, missouri
For Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz, being a Marine ``was something he always wanted to do,'' his father, Mark Schmitz, said in an interview,
``and I never seen a young man train as hard as he did to be the best soldier he could be.''
``He just went over in the last two weeks,'' his father, Mark Schmitz, told radio station KMOX in an interview Friday. Schmitz had been stationed in Jordan, and when the situation deteriorated in Afghanistan during the U.S. withdrawal, he was one of the thousands of U.S. troops deployed to Kabul.
Mark Schmitz's voice broke as he told KMOX, ``I'm very honored that I could call him my son--his life meant so much more. I'm so incredibly devastated that I won't be able to see the man that he was very quickly growing into becoming.''
marine corps lance corporal rylee j. mccollum, 20, of jackson, wyoming
Rylee Mccollum was a native of Bondurant, Wyoming. He attended Jackson Hole High School and was a 2019 graduate of Summit Innovations School in Jackson, according to CBS Wyoming affiliate KGWN-TV.
He was a husband and expectant father, according to The Associated Press.
``He was a Marine before he knew he was allowed to be a Marine,'' McCollum's sister, Cheyenne McCollum, told AP.
An uncle of McCollum's wife, Gigi, tweeted a picture of both of them at the dinner table: ``Thank you all for your prayers, outpouring love to Gigi, and recognizing our own American Hero.'' marine corps lance corporal dylan r. merola, 20, of rancho cucamonga, california
Lance Corporal Dylan R. Merola had only been in Afghanistan for a little over a week, his mother told CBS Los Angeles.
``He was supposed to come home in a couple of weeks,'' said a loved one.
The Los Osos High School graduate planned to go to college and study engineering. He was honored at his alma mater's first football game of the season.
``One of the best kids ever,'' his mother, Cheryl Merola, said.
``Kind, loving . . . he would give anything for anybody.''
marine corps lance corporal kareem m. nikoui, 20, of norco, california
Kareem M. Nikoui attended Norco High School in 2019 and served in JROTC, CBS Los Angeles reports.
``Just a good kid. Really had a strong energy about him and knew what he wanted to do,'' Norco High School principal Robert Ibbetson said.
``It was neat to see that kind of direction and drive and goal-
setting.''
He is survived by his mother, father and siblings, the city of Norco confirmed Friday night.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 156
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
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