ROSEVILLE, Calif. — Public memorial service is being held this morning to remember and honor U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole Gee.
Gee was one of the 13 service members killed in the attack at Kabul airport. They were helping screen Afghans and others trying to leave the country when the bombing happened.
Gee was assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. She was 23 years old when she was killed.
The Sacramento-area Marine graduated in 2016 from Roseville's Oakmont High School, a year later she enlisted in the Marines, according to a city of Roseville Facebook post. She leaves behind her husband, Jarrod Gee, who is also an Oakmont graduate and Marine.
The service was held at Bayside Church Adventure Campus, which is located at 6401 Stanford Ranch Road in Roseville. Roseville Police are also advising of traffic delays on Stanford Ranch Road, Galleria Blvd, and Highway 65. Well-wishers are encouraged to line sidewalks during the procession.
“Sergeant Nicole Gee was the most positive and outgoing Marine I have ever had the pleasure of working alongside of," Landon Workman, a close friend of Gee, told ABC10 in August.
Workman said Gee took every situation as an opportunity to learn and grow and set examples and standards that were difficult for others to achieve.
"She was the most competitive human being I’ve ever been around but carried it so incredibly well with as much humility as one could. She was meritoriously promoted to both Corporal and Sergeant, but one could argue neither were fast enough," Workman told ABC10. "She always took on responsibilities and roles of a Marine of much more experience and a high rank."
He said that Gee worked multiple shifts a day so she could be around the children and families who were being evacuated.
An Instagram post from Gee, posted a week before her death shows a baby being held with "I love my job" in the caption. Rep. Tom McClintock said Gee was like a guardian angel.
"Who else but an angel, a guardian angel, amidst the chaos and violence of those last days in Kabul, could look beyond that into the eyes of a little infant she was protecting and proclaim, I love my job," McClintock said.
Cheryl Juel, Gee's aunt, read a letter during the service telling the story behind the viral social media post.
"We were getting ready and our ship when someone handed us two small babies," Juel read. "I remember yours was sleeping peacefully and mine was hysterical. I laughed and looked at you asking how do you do that? She smiled and told me blow softly in the baby's face. She instantly stopped crying."
Gee’s military awards included the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal and the National Defense and Global War on Terrorism Service Medals.
Roseville community pays tribute to slain Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee
WATCH MORE: Thursday procession for Sgt. Gee: