Saturday, officials identified 13 members of the US service who were killed in an ISIS-K attack outside Kabul airport. Among them was Marine Corps Sergeant Nicole L. Gee, who a few days before her death was one of the Marines seen cradling and comforting Afghan children before their evacuation from the country.
On August 21, Gee posted a photo of herself with an Afghan child on Instagram. “I love my job,” the 23-year-old Sacramento native wrote.
Members of the U.S. service were at Kabul airport to help evacuate tens of thousands of people who became vulnerable after the Taliban took over the country.
Gee was charged with Marine children less than a year ago and was promoted to sergeant three weeks before the Kabul attack, according to her Instagram account.
In a now viral Facebook post, one of Gee’s friends, Mallory Harrison, wrote an emotional tribute to her friend.
“His car is parked on our land. It’s so mundane. Simple. But it’s there. … There was an explosion. And so he disappeared … His car is still there and he’s gone for always, ”Harrison said. he wrote.
Harrison said she and Gee were corporals and sergeants “together” and had been roommates for more than three years.
“From the beginning we joined the hip,” he said. “I can’t describe how I feel when I force myself to go back to reality and think about how I’ll never see it again. How he took his last breath doing what he loved – helping people – at HKIA in Afghanistan “.
Gee was married to a fellow Marine, Jarod Gee, her sister Misty Fuoco said. Nicole posted several photos on Instagram where she and her husband were celebrating the holidays and celebrating their own promotion to sergeant a few months ago.
“They had a bond like nothing I’ve ever seen and I’m so devastated that she’s lost the love of her life. She was everything to Jarod, the bright sun of her life. They’re both marine and dedicated. in the service of this country, “Fuoco wrote on a GoFundMe page. “He gave the final sacrifice.”
Thursday bombing killed 13 members of the American service and dozens of Afghans. Eleven of the 13 dead were Marines and all but one were under 30 years old. Eighteen members of the US service were injured.