My heart is breaking over the loss of the lives of 13 of our military in Afghanistan yesterday. The death toll from the blast includes 11 U.S. Marines, a Navy hospital corpsman, and one Army soldier, American officials said.
Today we learned the identity of one of those Marines who was needlessly killed yesterday in that bombing. He was only 20 years old. A young man who wanted to be a Marine all his life, according to a report I just heard. A young man who was due to be a dad in just three weeks. My heart goes out to his family and friends, the mother of his child, and to his unborn child. My prayers are with all those who lost loved ones in that attack yesterday… including the more than 100 Afghans who died in that bombing, too.
The above photo is Texas Marine David Lee Espinoza, 20,
killed in Kabul airport attack…
who was lauded for ‘courage and bravery,’
The young man is Kareem. His father’s interview was posted on-line. A portion of it was,
“Kareem loved what he was doing, he always wanted to be a Marine,” said Nikoui, noting that his son had been stationed close to home, at Camp Pendleton. This made it easy for Kareem to visit on weekends, and he often brought along “10 or 15 other Marines” with him. When the holidays rolled around, Kareem always brought a few buddies with him for a home cooked meal.
As I write this post, additional names are being released of those who were killed in the Kabul bombing. This one just came in:
“A Marine from the St. Louis area was among the 13 American service members and more than a hundred Afghans killed in a suicide bombing Thursday near Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, according to the man’s father and a U.S. senator.
Jared Schmitz, 20, of Wentzville, Missouri, was among the dead, his father, Mark Schmitz told the radio station KMOX.
“This has just been absolutely devastating,” Schmitz told the station Friday.
Schmitz told the station the U.S. Marine Corps came to his home to deliver “the horrific news” around 2:40 a.m. Friday.
U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley confirmed his death in a statement posted to Twitter.
“Today I spoke with the family of Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz, of Wentzville, Missouri, a Marine who lost his life yesterday in the Kabul attacks, while proudly serving this nation. I promised his family that his service and his legacy will not be forgotten,” Hawley wrote.
I THANK OUR MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM
FOR THEIR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY
AND THEIR WORK TO KEEP US
FREE AND SAFE.
God bless our military.
Keep them safe, Lord.
Let them come home to their families
alive and well… not in a box!
Dear Friends,
EMBRACE OUR MILITARY.
They need our appreciation and support every day.
See you tomorrow (God willing)
Love,
JanBeek
Comments on: "Embrace Our Military" (20)
The devastating news hit me like a rock. History tells us that the Afghan people have been at war with somebody for 4000 years. Besides farming opium poppies, the Afghan people know nothing but fighting and killing. Genetics tell us the weak die off and don’t pass their genes on. So for hundreds of generations they have been bred, cultured, and taught to kill. When a boy is 5 or 6, he tends the family goat herd. A lot of responsibility. Have you ever tried to manage 1 goat? 3 goats? A dozen? How about 40? Not easy for an adult, try it as a 6 year old. By the time the young Afghan boy begins his teens, he has mastered the art of butchering a goat, walking 40 miles a day of a couple quarts of dirty water and is trained to fight foreign invaders, ruthlessly. Check your history books, Afghanistan has never lost a war, been made a colony or spoke a foreign language on their soil for very long. So the suicide bombing did not surprise me. Again, check your history books. When the Soviet military and civilian forces pulled out, the Afghan people were constantly biting at their heels. The Soviets left a lot of military equipment there in their haste to run back home. Not long after, the berlin wall fell, and countries brpke away from the iron curtain and tge Soviet union dissolved. What will be our fate?
Yes, Peter, there is a sordid history in the Afghan past… but that does not make all Afghan people killers. Put on your Jesus glasses – and I’ll try taking off my Pollyanna ones!
Please read my response to today’s post
Where will I find it? It’s not here.
Thank you for your post! Indeed, I am thankful for our military men and women who protect and serve. ❤️🇺🇸
God bless you! I appreciate your understanding. <3 And your kind response. <3 Thank you, {{{Charlotte}}}.
You are a beautiful person and you are a blessing to know. 💗🌸☀️🌻
So young
;o( Yes, {{{{Derrick}}} ;o( That young man may not have been even born yet when this war started!
No
My heartfelt condolences. May almighty give more strength to family members to bear the great loss. Being a Defense person I know the difficult times.
Soldiers are the real backbone of any country.
RIP.
<3
Man’s inhumanity toward man continues to bring heartache. Sharing prayers for these fallen heroes is our proper path to take. The Navy corpsman killed was from Sandusky, Ohio.
So sad that these dear people had to leave this earth so soon under such terrible circumstances. God be with them and all their loved ones.
I served in the war in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) and I greatly appreciate this post. What has happened in the recent attacks and over the course of the years is devastating. Still we must remember to pray for those who serve and the people of Afghanistan. It took me years to get to a place where I could feel compassion for them. War is not pretty for either side involved. One of the most sad things has been and continues to be the many lives lost. Especially the young people. It is very sad indeed.
God bless you for your service <3 Thank you for your response here, {{{Jessy}}} and for joining JanBeek. I aim to inspire… and I always appreciate others who reach out to inspire in return, Thank you!
But it’s really very atrocious act that US left all fighters, copters, guns, munitions and other accessories in Afghanistan. Atleast these military equipments must be taken back to US 🇺🇸.
These terrorists are using some of them on civilians.
Alarming situation. These terrorists are getting training in Pakistan and filtered into. Why UN and EU are silent???
I agree… it is atrocious. My prayers are with the innocent, endangered Afghans. Why can’t we all just love one another??
Absolutely very correct
God bless you dear.iam also a veteran and know the difficulties