FOLSOM, Calif. — This Friday marks a year since the deadly attack at the Kabul Airport in Afghanistan.
On Aug. 26, 2021, 13 U.S. service members were killed as they were helping screen Afghans and others at the Abbey Gate of the Kabul airport. At least 169 Afghans were also killed in the bombing as they struggled to get into the airport and on flights out of the country.
Roseville's Nicole Gee was among the 13 U.S. service members killed in the suicide bombing. An Instagram post from Gee, posted a week before her death, shows a baby being held with "I love my job" in the caption.
Folsom's Tyler Vargas-Andrews was among the 18 U.S. service members catastrophically injured. He lost his entire left leg, his right arm just above the elbow, and suffered several other injuries. He needed 43 surgeries at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland after the bombing.
Warfighter Overwatch; a nonprofit supporting veterans, first responders and their families, is hosting a tribute on Friday from 5-6 p.m. at the Sutter Street Amphitheater to honor the 13 fallen U.S. service members.
"Those directly impacted by the bombing have not forgotten what happened, what's missing from their lives, or how their lives have changed," Danny O'Neel, the chairman of the board for Warfighter Overwatch, said. "We just want to make sure that those folks know they're not alone and that their local community supports them."
According to O'Neel, they will have a moment of silence at 5:36 p.m., which was the local time the bombing went off in Kabul.
O'Neel says Friday's tribute will allow them a moment to say the names of the 13 U.S. service members killed, remember their sacrifice, and show their families that they are not forgotten.
"I think it is incredibly important that every single person knows their names and hears their story," O'Neel said. "This event will be a way for our community to pay tribute to those service members because it is an honor to say their names and tell their stories."
O'Neel encourages the community to come to the event and write a note or words of support to the families of the fallen service members. The notes of support will be placed in a replica of the battlefield cross, and then sent to the families following the event.
"This is an opportunity for us to come together and show that we're much more alike than we are in our differences," O'Neel said.
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