Two years ago, a suicide bomber ripped through the streets outside Kabul International Airport, killing 13 US servicemen.
The attack catastrophically ended 20 years of US involvement in Afghanistan and became one of the darkest days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
No Americans had been killed in the eighteen months before the fateful events of August 26, 2021. Now thirteen families would welcome their sons and daughters in flag-draped coffins.
Two years later, loved ones of the fallen servicemen have said their deaths were unnecessary and have accused Biden of ignoring multiple requests to meet with them.
They also demand that the president step forward and finally admit the flaws in the failed withdrawal that tore their lives apart.
Christy Shamblin, the mother-in-law of Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, who was killed in the bombing, told DailyMail.com that the past two years have been “very painful.”
“One of the most difficult aspects is that the government and officially elected officials are largely ignored,” she explained.
She says she’s working to get a “glimpse of hope” to actually “have some truth about the circumstances of their deaths.”
The Service for Fallen Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee in July 2023. Families of US servicemen killed during the deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan demand accountability from the Biden administration nearly two years later, demanding the president ‘admit flaws’ in the catastrophic evacuation
Hunter Lopez, 22, was a Marine among 13 US servicemen killed in a deadly suicide bombing at an airport in Kabul, Afghanistan
“That’s important to us to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Shamblin continued.
“I don’t want to see another family member or soldier go through the same thing.”
She told DailyMail.com that the only time the Biden administration contacted her was at the dignified handover of Dover Air Force Base.
The president made the unannounced trip to Delaware as the coffins of the 13 servicemen killed in the attack were returned to the United States in the days following the bombing.
But he was criticized it seemed as if he looked at his watch only seconds after the salute in honor of the return of their remians.
Alicia and Herman Lopez, the parents of Cpl. Hunter Lopez told DailyMail.com that they were never approached personally by government officials, other than seeing them in Dover.
“We did get a certificate or a letter or something from Biden saying they were sorry for our loss, but that was it,” they said.
Shamblin said she and other Gold Star families have “recently” reached out to ask President Biden to meet with them.
‘We did not hear a thing. We just haven’t heard anything more,” she said.
Shamblin said she would like the government to recognize that the withdrawal “wasn’t a success, that there were shortcomings.”
“I would like to sit down with President Biden and let him outline the successes.”
Shamblin sees “moments of success” in rescuing women and children, but that was on the armed forces side, she said.
“Those successes are theirs. I don’t see where the government has been successful, and I would like to see his perspective.’
Nicole was “amazing” and was “widely known as a very enthusiastic, encouraging partner,” Shamblin said.
She had a very uplifting spirit for everyone around her, and her “absence is missed by many people every day.”
The Gold Star families hope that a meeting with Biden and other military leaders can ensure that the tragedy never happens again.
Marine sergeant. Nicole Gee was killed in the August 2021 bombing
Christy Shamblin said she and other Gold Star families have reached out ‘recently’ asking President Biden to meet with them, but he has not responded
While being in the military is dangerous, “it doesn’t have to be a reckless or needless loss,” says Herman Lopez.
“This is not over because these are issues that could potentially affect decision makers tasked with keeping our military safe in our country,” he continued.
“And so if these people are not in a position or able to make the right decisions or if their hands are tied or if they are not able, then that needs to be addressed so that our country is safe and secure. that other members of our army are not in needless danger.’
Shamblin added that she hopes she can “rest easy” knowing that troops will not be unnecessarily endangered in the future.
“I hope I can take comfort in knowing that the next time we send our forces to a humanitarian crisis and an evacuation, there won’t be any needless killings on our forces through our own mistakes,” Shamblin said.
Two years later, the Lopez family says they are “definitely still looking for answers.”
They are still waiting to get their son’s cell phone back from the Pentagon and his other personal items.
Their other son is still in the military and the Lopez family respects their processes and thorough procedures, but the information they have received so far is very “limited.”
Hunter loved to play chess and was an extremely “devoted” and well-behaved child, according to his parents.
He was a fun-loving, easy-going man who loved Star Wars and thoroughly enjoyed being a Marine and reading about history and military tactics.
Hunter planned to join the sheriff’s department like his parents when he left the military.
The Americans killed in the blast were: (from left to right, starting with the top row) Cpl. Daegan W. Page – Sergeant. Johanny Rosario Pichardo – Staff Sergeant. Darin T. Hoover – Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza – Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum – Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui – Cpl. Hunter Lopez – Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz – Staff Sergeant. Ryan C. Knauss – Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez – Marine Corps Man Maxton W. Soviak – Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola – Sergeant. Nicole L. Gee
Last month, during a congressional hearing about what went wrong during the withdrawal, family members were asked if the Biden administration had taken ownership of the failed exit.
They shake their heads in unison during a powerful moment.
A handful of Gold Star families will be back on Capitol Hill next week.
They are participating in a round table conference hosted by Michael McCaul, Speaker of the House of Foreign Affairs, R-Texas.
Christy Shamblin will be on hand next week to keep her daughter’s memory alive and get more of the answers she’s been looking for from the administration.
She said the Gold Star family community