ESCONDIDO, Calif. — The families of some of the 13 servicemembers who were killed in a deadly blast at the Kabul Airport in 2021 are seeking answers.
On Monday, August 7, family members of those who died appeared at Escondido City Hall to call on the Biden Administration to give them answers and inform the public as to how their loved ones died in a deadly blast as U.S. forces were leaving Afghanistan.
Appearing alongside the families was senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-48).
"For almost two years, the Gold Star Families of the fallen in Afghanistan have waited for answers and accountability for the loss of their loved ones - and they have waited long enough," said Rep. Issa. "At every turn, they've been shut out and ignored by the Biden Administration that prefers to turn the page on its disaster. That stops now.
It's time that the public hears the stories of these heroes and learns of negligence and breakdown of leadership that led to the loss of life that day two years ago."
The majority of the servicemembers killed in the August 2021 Kabul airport attack were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, and were based at Camp Pendleton.
Lance Corpoal Kareem Nikoui was among the 13 that died in the bombing. Nikoui's father, Steven, joined the forum in hopes of finding information into his son's death.
"Nobody wants you to see their bat, and, the government does not want to have to explain itself," Steven Nikoui told CBS 8. "It was a catastrophe that should not have happened."
The Marines that died that day include Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas; Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Roseville, north of Sacramento; Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah, who was living in Aliso Viejo; Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio; Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyoming; Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga; Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, of Norco; Cpl. Daegan W. Page, 23, of Omaha, Nebraska; Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts; Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Indiana; and Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, 20, of St. Charles, Missouri.
Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tennessee, and Navy Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio also were killed in the blast.
Following the forum, members of the forum as well as members of the public visited a memorial on Mount Soledad in La Jolla.