Madison Munoz, Staff Reporter
Outside of room M227, stands a tribute to the 13 U.S. servicemen lost early last Thursday morning, August 26 in the bombing at Kabul Airport in Afghanistan. Ms. Amanda Towers, English teacher and former Marine, put up the memorial soon after hearing the devastating news.
“It was a big loss, they deserve to be remembered,” said Towers.
The fatal attack came as a result of a suicide bombing, and took place at the gates of the airport, targeting those who were attempting to evacuate the country.. Just days before the planned withdrawal of American troops from the region, military personnel worked to evacuate Afghans who wished to flee the country after the Taliban seized control on Saturday, August 15. Nearly 200 Afghans lost their lives alongside the 13 service men and women killed in the blast..
As a former Marine herself, Ms. Tower’s felt it was her duty to pay respect and take the opportunity to educate those who are unaware of what is happening around the world. “This shouldn’t have happened,” she said. “They were trying to help those left behind.”
The display features the words “Until Valhalla,” a phrase servicemembers say to the fallen; this reference to the Viking idea of an afterlife where heroes who fall in battle are reunited is intended to give the utmost respect and essentially say ‘we will see them again.’
All 13 names of those lost in the attack are a part of the display along with their branch/title and age. The majority of the soldiers were in their early 20s- a fact Ms. Towers has a hard time wrapping her head around.
“They were all super young,” she said. “Some just graduated from high school two years ago, one of them was even from Laredo, Texas.”
Towers can not help but think of each and every student on campus and wonder if those that pass by the memorial in the rush to get to their next class ever stop to make the comparison between the names and ages on display and their friends and classmates who are 18 and 19 years old.
