13 service members killed in Kabul attack honored with the Congressional Gold Medal

 The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal to the 13 American service members killed in a bomb attack in Kabul this summer.

The August attack was one of the deadliest days for American forces in the past decade of the 20-year war in Afghanistan — and took place just days ahead of the U.S.’s planned full withdrawal from the country that had been overtaken days earlier by the Taliban.

The bill to honor the fallen service members was introduced by Michigan Republican Rep. Lisa McClain and was co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of more than 300 representatives.

President Biden has called the Americans who lost their lives in the bombing “heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of our highest American ideals and while saving the lives of others.”

“Their bravery and selflessness has enabled more than 117,000 people at risk to reach safety thus far,” Biden said in a statement shortly after the attack. “May God protect our troops and all those standing watch in these dangerous days.”

The group of deceased service members includes 11 Marines, one Army soldier and one member of the Navy.

Here is some of what NPR knows about those killed, as reported by our staff, as well as other media outlets.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas

Elizabeth Holguin told local TV station KGNS that she is trying to is trying to make sense of the death of her son, Lance Cpl. David Espinoza.

According to KGNS, Holguin received a phone call at 2:30 a.m. from the military to inform her that Espinoza had been killed in the explosion at the Kabul airport.

“He was a great kid. We never had trouble with him — nothing,” she said of her son. “He never got in trouble. He was a great guy, a great guy, very proud of him.”

Espinoza’s stepfather, Victor Manuel Dominguez, became a part of his life at age three, but Dominquez saw him as his own.

“He was never my stepson and I was never his stepfather,” he said.

Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar released a statement on Facebook saying that Espinoza is a hero and that his heart goes out to Espinoza’s family during this difficult time.

“David Espinoza, a Laredo native Marine killed in Afghanistan, embodied the values of America: grit, dedication, service, and valor,” Cuellar wrote. “When he joined the military after high school, he did so with the intention of protecting our nation and demonstrating his selfless acts of service. I mourn him and all the fallen heroes in Afghanistan.”

Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Sacramento, Calif.

In 2016, Sgt. Nicole Gee graduated from Oakmont High School. Her husband, fellow Marine Jarod Gee, is also a graduate of Oakmont, The Sacramento Bee reports.

Just days before her death, Gee posted a photo on Instagram of herself in uniform while holding a baby in Afghanistan with the caption, “I love my job.”

Another of Gee’s photos — posted more recently — shows her posing near a cargo plane as a line of people wait to board from the back. The photo is captioned: “Escorting evacuees onto the bird.”

Posting on social media, Roseville city officials called Gee “our hometown hero,” and offered their “unwavering support” to her family, according to the Bee.

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox released a statement Friday offering condolences to Hoover’s family, and saying he was “devastated” by the Marine’s death. Cox noted that Hoover died while helping to evacuate U.S. citizens and Afghans seeking asylum.

“Staff Sgt. Hoover served valiantly as a Marine and died serving his fellow countrymen as well as America’s allies in Afghanistan,” Cox said. “We honor his tremendous bravery and commitment to his country, even as we condemn the senseless violence that resulted in his death.”

Cox ordered to lower flags on state and public grounds until sunset on Monday.

The Deseret News reported that tributes to Hoover poured onto his Facebook page, including one from Hoover’s father, who is also also named Darin.

“Soooooo glad I got to see him before he left. I love you son!!! You’re my hero!!” the elder Hoover wrote. “Please check in on us once in a while. I’ll try to make you proud!!

Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tenn.

Speaking of her husband’s death, Alena Knauss said the couple were “blissfully happy” but that he would have no regrets.

“For him, it’s the ultimate honor he could give back to his country,” she told Knoxville’s WBIR Channel 10. “To help those people and to know he was helping people, he would not be sorry. He would not regret it.”

Knauss told another local television station: “The last thing I had texted him was, ‘Hey, I love you, when you get the chance–I know you are busy–but can you please just text me and let me know you are OK?’ He never got to respond to that.”

Since joining the army in 2016 — the same year the high-school sweethearts were married — Knauss, who was assigned to the 8th Psychological Operations Group at Fort Bragg, N.C., had risen quickly up the Army’s enlisted ranks.

She said from high school, Knauss was determined to join the Army.

“I think the only person he was scared for was me. He did not question his job,” she told Channel 10. “If they needed him in the middle of the woods at 4 a.m., he’d be in the middle of the woods at 4 a.m. If they needed him in Afghanistan in 30 minutes, he’d be there.”

Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, Calif.

Lopez is the son of two Riverside County Sheriff’s Department officers, Captain Herman Lopez and Deputy Alicia Lopez. The department announced Lopez’s death on Friday.

Sheriff Chad Bianco said on Facebook that Lopez planned on following in his parents’ footsteps and joining the department as a deputy when he got home from his deployment.

“Hunter, thank you for your service to our community and our country. My thoughts and prayers are with your family,” Bianco said.

Before joining the Marines, Lopez participated in the department’s career-oriented Explorer program from 2014 to 2017, while he was in high school, according to the sheriff’s office.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyo.

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon tweeted on Friday, thanking McCollum for his service and sending condolences to his family.

“I’m devastated to learn Wyoming lost one of our own in yesterday’s terrorist attack in Kabul,” Gordon said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Rylee McCollum of Bondurant. Jennie and I, along with all of Wyoming and the entire country thank Rylee for his service.”

McCollum’s father, Jim, told The New York Times that McCollum was helping with evacuations and guarding a checkpoint when the attack at the airport happened. His father said this was McCollum’s first deployment and that he had gotten married recently. His wife is expecting with their first child.

McCollum’s sister Cheyenne told East Idaho News that her brother was “going to be the best dad.” Cheyenne said her brother was the youngest of four siblings, her single father’s only son, and that he knew he wanted to be a Marine from a young age.

“He was a kid that touched everybody’s heart,” Cheyenne told East Idaho News. “He was a wrestler since he was 4. He knew he was going to be a Marine since he was about that same age. He used to walk around in just a diaper and in his sister’s pink princess boots carrying his toy rifle and play like he was in the Army or a Marine.”