[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 156 (Friday, September 10, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E958-E960]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING THE SERVICE OF THE 13 U.S. TROOPS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES HELPING 
                           OTHERS TO FREEDOM

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DARRELL ISSA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 10, 2021

  Mr. ISSA. Madam Speaker, on Thursday, August 26, 2021, as the U.S. 
military was working to airlift thousands out of Afghanistan amid chaos 
at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, terrorists murdered 
more than 180 people including 13 members of the U.S. military there to 
assist American citizens seeking to come home.
  Ten of those 13 U.S. troops were from a single unit at Camp Pendleton 
in San Diego County, just outside my district. Nine of them were 
Marines, part of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. The tenth was 
a Navy corpsman attached to that unit. Their stories are now part of 
the long and valiant history of Camp Pendleton and the 2/1 battalion, 
known as ``The Professionals.''
  The battalion saw combat at Guadalcanal and Okinawa in World War II 
and fought in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq as well. It helped run a 
temporary shelter at Camp Pendleton for thousands of Vietnamese 
refugees following the fall of Saigon in 1975.
  In the days since the devastating news of last week's terrorist 
attack, the local community has embraced the families whose loved ones 
paid the ultimate price, creating a memorial of flowers and American 
flags outside Camp Pendleton's main gate in Oceanside.
  Five of the marines were only 20 years old, and all but one were 
under 25. Four were from California.
  They died doing an honorable job in an honorable way. As the official 
Pentagon announcement described it, they were ``supporting non-
combatant evacuation operations.'' In other words, they were helping 
innocent civilians make it home safely.
  In devotion to their country, they were willing to risk their own 
homecoming to secure a safe homecoming for others. That's selfless 
service. That's a meaningful life. Their families can be proud of how 
they lived their brief lives.
  While words seem powerless to ease the grief of loved ones suffering 
such a profound loss, I pray that their families can find some small 
comfort that a grateful nation honors the service and mourns the loss 
of these American heroes:
  Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover: 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah.
  Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo: 25, of Lawrence, 
Massachusetts. Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee: 23, of Sacramento, 
California.
  Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez: 22, of Indio, California.
  Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page: 23, of Omaha, Nebraska.
  Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez: 22, of Logansport, Indiana.
  Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza: 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas.
  Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz: 20, of St. Charles, 
Missouri.
  Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. Mccollum: 20, of Jackson, Wyoming.

[[Page E959]]

  Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola: 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, 
California.
  Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui: 20, of Norco, California.
  Navy Hospitalman Maxton W. Soviak: 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio.
  Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss: 23, of Corryton, Tennessee.
  More than just names on a list, they were each an individual hero who 
will be missed. The following is some of what has been reported about 
each of them and their loved ones, according to CBS News:


  Navy Corpsman Maxton ``Max'' W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio

  Corpsman Maxton ``Max'' W. Soviak played football at Edison High 
School before graduating in 2017.
  ``As a football player he was full tilt 100 miles an hour, fearless, 
which leads you to understand, you know, where he was and what maybe 
happened,'' Jim Hall, head football coach at Edison, told CBS 
Cleveland, Ohio, affiliate WOIO-TV.
  ``It didn't seem real,'' Hall said. ``It still really doesn't, you 
know, great kid, loved life. He was bright, bright kid, and it doesn't 
seem right. It doesn't seem fair, you know. I just hope the best for 
his family.
  Soviak joined the Navy after high school graduation.
  ``He just loved life,'' Edison High School superintendent Thomas Roth 
told WOIO-TV. ``He was out there and enjoyed things, and he was helpful 
for others as I think we all can see from what happened yesterday. You 
know, he was always there to help other people. He wanted to be of 
service and that's what he did.''


     army staff sergeant ryan c. knauss, 23, of corryton, tennessee

  Sergeant Ryan C. Knauss went to Gibbs High School before he enrolled 
in the Army, his family told CBS Knoxville, Tennessee, affiliate WVLT-
TV. Knauss was a member of the Army's 82nd Airborne division and a 
staff sergeant.
  Knauss had only been in Afghanistan for a week before his death but 
had previously spent nine months in the country, his grandmother told 
WVLT.
  No local funeral arrangements have been made at this time, family 
members said. Knauss will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.


marine corps staff sergeant darin t. hoover jr., 31, of salt lake city, 
                                  utah

  Sergeant Darin Hoover Jr. was on his third tour of duty, his father 
Darin Hoover Sr. told Salt Lake City CBS affiliate KUTV.
  ``He led his men, and they followed him, but I know in my heart of 
hearts he was out front,'' Hoover Sr. said. ``They [his fellow Marines] 
would follow him through the gates of hell if that's what it took.''
  He said the 9/11 terrorist attacks moved his son, who was a child at 
the time, to vow he'd serve in the military. ``He decided, `That's what 
I want to do,' '' Hoover Sr. told KUTV.
  Hoover Jr., 31, was based at Camp Pendleton in California.
  ``(He was the) best kid in the world,'' his father said. ``Couldn't 
ask for any better.''


   marine corps sergeant johanny rosario pichardo, 25, of lawrence, 
                             massachusetts

  Sergeant Johanny Rosario Pichardo was screening women and children at 
the Abbey gate when the attack took place, according to Marine First 
Lieutenant John ``Jack'' Coppola. He told CBS News in an email that 
Pichardo, a supply chief from the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, was 
a member of the brigade's Female Engagement Team (FET). FETs, he said, 
are ``volunteer teams of female Marines with the experience and 
maturity necessary to enable continuity of operations while respecting 
cultural norms.''
  Coppola said Pichardo's service ``was not only crucial to evacuating 
thousands of women and children, but epitomizes what it means to be a 
Marine: putting herself in danger for the protection of American values 
so that others might enjoy them.''
  Pichardo is a Lawrence High School graduate and former Bridgewater 
State University student. She is survived by her mother and sister, CBS 
Boston reports, and will be laid to rest in Lawrence, where her family 
lives.
  ``It was her family's wish that Rosario is remembered and honored as 
a hero,'' Lawrence Mayor Kendrys Vasquez said Saturday. Bridgewater 
State University also released a statement saying the ``community is 
struck with profound grief upon learning of the death of one of our 
own'' even though Rosario only attended for a semester before 
committing herself to the Marines.


   marine corps sergeant nicole l. gee, 23, of sacramento, california

  Marine Corps Sergeant Nicole L. Gee was one of several Marines seen 
cradling and comforting Afghan children amid evacuations just days 
before her death. On August 21, Gee posted a photo of herself holding 
an Afghan child on lnstagram. ``I love my job,'' the 23-year-old 
Sacramento native wrote.
  Gee was sworn into the Marines less than a year ago and was promoted 
to sergeant three weeks before the Kabul attack, according to posts on 
her lnstagram account.
  Gee was married to a fellow Marine, Jarod Gee, her sister Misty Fuoco 
said. Nicole posted several lnstagram photos of her and her husband 
celebrating the holidays and celebrating his own promotion to sergeant 
just a few months ago.


      marine corps corporal hunter lopez, 22, of indio, california

  Corporal Hunter Lopez joined the Marine Corps in 2017 and was a 
member of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, according to a statement 
released by the Riverside Sheriff's Department.
  Lopez, 22, was the son of Riverside Deputy Sheriff Alicia Lopez and 
Riverside Sheriff's Captain Herman Lopez. He intended to follow his 
parents into law enforcement after his current deployment and become a 
Riverside County sheriff's deputy, the department's statement said.


      marine corps corporal daegan w. page, 23, of omaha, nebraska

  Corporal Daegan Page joined the Marine Corps after he graduated from 
Millard South High School, according to a statement his family released 
to local news outlets.
  He grew up in Red Oak, Iowa, and the metro Omaha area and was a 
member of the Boy Scouts. He enjoyed playing hockey and hunting and 
``spending time outdoors with his dad,'' the statement said. He loved 
the Chicago Blackhawks.
  Page ``always looked forward to coming home and hanging out with his 
family and many buddies in Nebraska.'' Once he finished his service in 
the Marines, he planned to attend a local trade school and perhaps 
become an electrical lineman, the statement said.


 marine corps corporal humberto a. sanchez, 22, of logansport, indiana

  Corporal Humberto Sanchez was a 2017 graduate of Logansport High 
School who played varsity soccer and was on the homecoming court in his 
senior year, according to the lndyStar.
  The school's principal, Matt Jones, told the lndyStar that Sanchez 
was one of five students in his class who enlisted in the Marines. He 
remembered Sanchez as ``a bright, athletic young man who was popular, 
well-liked by his soccer teammates, classmates, coaches, and 
teachers.''
  Logansport Mayor Chris Martin mourned Sanchez's death in a Facebook 
post Friday.
  ``This young man had not yet even turned 30 and still had his entire 
life ahead of him,'' Martin wrote. ``Any plans he may have had for his 
post-military life were given in sacrifice due to the heart he 
exhibited in putting himself into harm's way to safeguard the lives of 
others.''
  Indiana Congressman Jim Baird posted his condolences on Facebook, 
too, saying, ``He bravely answered the call to serve his nation, and I 
am both proud of his service and deeply saddened by his loss.''


 marine corps lance corporal david l. espinoza, 20, of rio bravo, texas

  Lance Corporal David Espinoza, 20, was born and raised in Rio Bravo 
but attended high school in Laredo, CBS Dallas/Fort Worth reports.
  Congressman Henry Cuellar released a statement that said, in part, 
``Mr. Espinoza embodied the values of America: grit, dedication, 
service, and valor. Mr. Espinoza is a hero.''
  The city of Laredo posted its condolences on Facebook.


   marine corps lance corporal jared m. schmitz, 20, of st. charles, 
                                missouri

  For Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz, being a Marine ``was something he 
always wanted to do,'' his father, Mark Schmitz, said in an interview, 
``and I never seen a young man train as hard as he did to be the best 
soldier he could be.''
  ``He just went over in the last two weeks,'' his father, Mark 
Schmitz, told radio station KMOX in an interview Friday. Schmitz had 
been stationed in Jordan, and when the situation deteriorated in 
Afghanistan during the U.S. withdrawal, he was one of the thousands of 
U.S. troops deployed to Kabul.
  Mark Schmitz's voice broke as he told KMOX, ``I'm very honored that I 
could call him my son--his life meant so much more. I'm so incredibly 
devastated that I won't be able to see the man that he was very quickly 
growing into becoming.''


 marine corps lance corporal rylee j. mccollum, 20, of jackson, wyoming

  Rylee Mccollum was a native of Bondurant, Wyoming. He attended 
Jackson Hole High School and was a 2019 graduate of Summit Innovations 
School in Jackson, according to CBS Wyoming affiliate KGWN-TV.
  He was a husband and expectant father, according to The Associated 
Press.
  ``He was a Marine before he knew he was allowed to be a Marine,'' 
McCollum's sister, Cheyenne McCollum, told AP.
  An uncle of McCollum's wife, Gigi, tweeted a picture of both of them 
at the dinner table: ``Thank you all for your prayers, outpouring love 
to Gigi, and recognizing our own American Hero.''

[[Page E960]]

  



 marine corps lance corporal dylan r. merola, 20, of rancho cucamonga, 
                               california

  Lance Corporal Dylan R. Merola had only been in Afghanistan for a 
little over a week, his mother told CBS Los Angeles.
  ``He was supposed to come home in a couple of weeks,'' said a loved 
one.
  The Los Osos High School graduate planned to go to college and study 
engineering. He was honored at his alma mater's first football game of 
the season.
  ``One of the best kids ever,'' his mother, Cheryl Merola, said. 
``Kind, loving . . . he would give anything for anybody.''


 marine corps lance corporal kareem m. nikoui, 20, of norco, california

  Kareem M. Nikoui attended Norco High School in 2019 and served in 
JROTC, CBS Los Angeles reports.
  ``Just a good kid. Really had a strong energy about him and knew what 
he wanted to do,'' Norco High School principal Robert Ibbetson said. 
``It was neat to see that kind of direction and drive and goal-
setting.''
  He is survived by his mother, father and siblings, the city of Norco 
confirmed Friday night.

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