As US marks 9/11, a divided Congress unites to honor 13 fallen in Afghanistan
Families of American service members killed during America's withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 listen to congressional leaders speak as the troops were posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, at the Capitol in Washington, Sept. 10, 2024.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
WASHINGTON
It takes a lot to bring Democrats and Republicans together these days. But 13 fallen heroes did it on the eve of the anniversary of 9/11.
The occasion was the awarding of the Congressional Gold Medal – the highest award Congress gives – to 13 service members killed by a suicide bomber in the final days of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan three years ago.
Under the Capitol dome, family members of the 13 dabbed their eyes; others sat erect and resolute. A baby gurgled, a photographer dropped her lens cap, and the strains of the U.S. Army Brass Quintet echoed off the murals depicting seminal moments in American history.
Why We Wrote This
In our congressional correspondent’s four years of reporting on Capitol Hill, it’s been rare for her to see lawmakers resist opportunities for political digs. But on Tuesday in the Capitol Rotunda, they put bipartisan sparring aside to honor fallen service members.
The lawmakers demonstrated restraint, if not comity. They sat next to each other. They stood next to each other. They largely blamed terrorists instead of each other, though House Speaker Mike Johnson made an early, direct dig at the Biden-Harris administration.
Even if it was a brief, imperfect reprieve among members of Congress, it was a refreshing one.
The ceremony – attended by several top military and White House officials – took place against a backdrop of political fighting over who is to blame for the botched U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Republican-led House Foreign Affairs Committee released a report this week excoriating the Biden-Harris administration for its lack of planning, transparency, and accountability, saying it undermined America’s standing in the world among both allies and adversaries. The report did not focus on the role of former President Donald Trump, who had agreed to withdrawal terms before President Joe Biden took office.
Despite that backdrop – a nation struggling with sharp political polarization and a consequential upcoming election – the ceremony itself was notably nonpolitical. Lawmakers exercised a discipline rare these days and focused on honoring those who, they said, “made the ultimate sacrifice” in the name of U.S. ideals of freedom and democracy. They called on their fellow Americans to live lives worthy of that sacrifice.
“Scripture teaches us that ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,’” said Mr. Johnson, a Louisiana Republican. “Today we honor that very love” – love embodied, he added, by 13 men and women of valor.
“Their names are etched in our hearts and now into the history of our nation,” he said. “And they are:
“Marine Corps Staff Sgt. [Darin] Taylor Hoover.
“Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Pichardo.
“Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole Gee.
“Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez.
“Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan Paige.
“Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto Sanchez.
“Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David Espinoza.
“Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz.
“Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum.
“Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan Merola.
“Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui.
“Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Maxton Soviak.
“Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss.”
They were peacemakers, added Mr. Johnson’s Democratic counterpart, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. “Blessed are the peacemakers,” he said.
Pageantry accentuated the solemn tone: the color guard, a brass quintet, the chaplains’ prayers, and a resonant bass singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” ricocheting around the Rotunda.
The costumes and props were of the 21st century. But it was, in fact, an age-old scene. People willing to fight for something larger than themselves. And when they fall, being lauded as inspirations rather than as failures.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican who has served nearly 40 years as a Kentucky senator, highlighted something special about each of the 13. A contagious laugh. A thirst for life. A baby on the way.
Then Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, one of the two highest-ranking Democrats to meet with the families since the service members’ deaths in 2021, took the podium.
“It now falls on us, to all of us gathered here under the dome of Lady Liberty, to ensure the sacrifices of all our service members were not in vain,” he said.
“We must care for them and their families,” he continued, “and defend the values of freedom and democracy they so nobly fought for.”
Toward the end, Corporal Sanchez’s mother, Coral Doolittle, spoke almost inaudibly at first, and then bolder and louder. “Their love for this country was greater than the threat they faced from this enemy,” she intoned.
“Continue to sustain and comfort the families who have made incalculable sacrifices for freedom,” said Senate Chaplain Barry Black, calling their sons and daughters heroes and heroines. “Help us, mighty God, to go beyond words and medals – to live lives that truly honor David, Nicole, Darin, Ryan, Hunter, Rylee, Dylan, Kareem, Johanny, Humberto, Jared, Maxton, and Daegan.”