Ten of the U.S. service members killed in a terror attack at the airport in Kabul this week were Marines based from Camp Pendleton in San Diego County.
Officials released the names of the victims Saturday. The service members from Camp Pendleton included nine Marines and one sailor with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment and 1st Marine Division, KTLA’s sister station in San Diego, KSWB, reported. The men were identified as:
- Staff Sgt. Darin Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah
- Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, Calif.
- Cpl. Humberto Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Ind.
- Cpl. Daegan Page, 23, of Omaha, Neb.
- Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, 20, of St. Charles, Mo.
- Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, 20, of Norco, Calif.
- Lance Cpl. Dylan Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
- Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyo.
- Lance Cpl. David Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas
- Navy Hospital Corpsman Maxton Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio
Three other service members who were based in other parts of the U.S. were killed in the attacks. They were identified as:
- Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tenn.
- Marine Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Sacramento, Calif.
- Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosariopichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Mass.
The service members had been helping people evacuate Afghanistan when they were in a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport where people were flocking to amid the Taliban takeover.
They were the first U.S. service members killed in Afghanistan since February 2020.
The U.S. is entering the final phase of its military withdrawal at the ccountry, and defense officials said as few as 4,000 service members remained in the nation as of Saturday, the Associated Press reported.
KTLA’s sister station, KWSB, has put together an updating list of this week’s U.S. military casualties, with photos and details about their lives when available.