Service members killed in Afghanistan honored in Congressional Gold Medal ceremony

Source: CBS News

Updated on: September 10, 2024 / 12:13 PM EDT


Washington — The 13 U.S. service members killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul in 2021 were honored posthumously Tuesday in a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony at the Capitol that came three years after the chaotic U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.

House Speaker Mike Johnson hosted the ceremony and was joined by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, along with family members of those killed in the attack, which took place at the Kabul airport. The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest award Congress can bestow.

"Their names are etched into our hearts and now into the history of our nation," Johnson said of the 13 service members before reading aloud each of their names. "Our nation owes a profound debt of gratitude to these service members and those here today who were with them in Kabul." Jeffries said no award can repay the sacrifices made by the service members, but praised them for defending freedom and democracy "until their last breath."

"With this Congressional Gold Medal, we reverently honor 13 patriots who have fallen in a war zone with tremendous valor," he said. "The 13 heroes we are honoring here today represent the best of America. They were beloved sons and daughters, brothers ad sisters, spouses and friends who knew the dangers of the mission but nevertheless answered the call to service, risking their own safety for that of our fellow Americans, our allies and our Afghan partners."

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghanistan-service-members-killed-congress-gold-medal-ceremony/