By Amy Beth Hanson, Janie Har and Amy Forliti - The Associated Press
A young husband with a son on the way.
Another who always wanted to be in the Army and another who planned to become a deputy sheriff when his deployment ended.
On Saturday, authorities confirmed the identities of the 13 US soldiers killed in the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan, which also claimed the lives of more than 160 Afghans.
Eleven Marines, a Navy
Marine
and an Army soldier were among the dead, while 18 other US service members were injured in Thursday's attack, which was attributed to the Afghan branch of the extremist group calling itself Islamic State.
The United States said it
was the deadliest day for US forces in Afghanistan since 2011.
The White House said President Joe Biden will seek opportunities to honor service members who lost their lives, many of whom were men in their early 20s.
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Here are the stories of some of the victims:
Rylee McCollum, 20
Rylee McCollum, a Marine and a native of Bondurant, Wyoming, was married and his wife is expecting a baby in three weeks, his sister, Cheyenne McCollum, told The Associated Press news agency.
"He was so excited to be a father, and he was going to be a great father," McCollum said.
She said her brother "was already a Marine before he knew he could be ... He was carrying his toy rifle and wearing his sister's princess pink snow boots, and he was playing hunting or being a Marine. of Marina ".
McCollum said his brother wanted to be a history teacher and wrestling coach once he completed his service.
Another sister, Roice McCollum, told the Casper Star Tribune that her brother was on his first deployment when the evacuation began in Afghanistan.
[The United States kills an alleged ISIS terrorist planning new attacks in Afghanistan in a drone attack]
"We want to make sure people know that these are the guys who are sacrificing themselves
, and that he has a family that loves him and a wife who loves him and a baby that he will never know," said Cheyenne McCollum.
Regi Stone, the father of one of Rylee McCollum's friends, described him as "a good boy" who was tough, smart and brave.
Eli Stone, left, and Rylee McCollum, at Christmas time at Stone's home in Jackson, Wyoming, December 2019 Courtesy Regi Stone via AP
Stone shared a note that his wife, Kim, sent him their son Eli Stone, who is also in the Army and is deployed elsewhere.
In the note, Kim wrote that she remembered telling friends to flee if they had to go in first and that they both said,
"If we die doing this, we die doing what we love."
Kareem Mae'Lee Grant Nikou, 20
Corporal Kareem Mae'Lee Grant Nikoui, of Norco, California, sent videos to his family hours before he died interacting with children in Afghanistan.
In one of the clips, he asked a boy to say hello.
"Do you want to record a video together, friend?"
Nikoui said, leaning down to take a video of himself with the boy.
"Alright, we're heroes now, man."
Close family friend Paul Arreola said the videos show
"the heart of this young man, the love he has."
"The family is heartbroken," he said.
Arreola described Nikoui as
an "amazing young man" full of potential,
who always wanted to be a Marine and set out to achieve his goal.
He is survived by his parents and three siblings.
“He loved this country and everything we stand for.
It is so difficult to know that we have lost it, "she
said crying.
Attacks in Afghanistan reopen wounds in war veterans who beg to speed up evacuation
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Nikoui was also in the JROTC, and the Norco High School Air Force JROTC posted on Facebook that he was "one of our best Air Force JROTC cadets" and that "Kareem was determined to be a Marine and
always he wanted to serve his country. "
The city of Norco said in a social media post on Friday that Nikoui's name will be enshrined on a memorial wall in the city.
Jared Schmitz, 20
Corporal Jared Schmitz grew up in the St. Louis area and was among a group of
Marines
sent back to Afghanistan to help with evacuation efforts, his father, Mark Schmitz, told KMOX Radio.
According to him, his son always wanted to be a Marine.
He said he learned of his death when the
Marines
arrived at his home in Wentzville, Missouri, at 2:40 a.m. Friday.
"This was something he always wanted to do, and
he had never seen a young man train as hard as he did to be the best soldier he could be,
" Schmitz said of his son.
“His life meant so much more.
I am so incredibly devastated that I won't be able to see the man he was quickly becoming. "
Taylor Hoover, 31
Utah's Sergeant Taylor Hoover had been in the Marine Corps for 11 years and was remembered as a hero who died serving others, his father Darin Hoover said.
"He is a hero. He gave his life protecting those who cannot protect themselves, doing what he loved by serving his country," added Darin Hoover, who lives in a suburb of Salt Lake City.
He said he heard from the Marines all day Friday that they said they were grateful to have his son as a sergeant.
"When they think about it, they say they learned a lot from him," he recalled.
"A great leader".
Her son, she said, was also the best friend of her two sisters and loved their entire extended family.
He had a girlfriend in California and he was the kind of guy who
"lit up the room" when he walked in.
Nate Thompson of Murray, Utah, met Hoover when they were 10 years old in minor league football.
They remained friends until high school.
He was smaller than usual for his position on the team,
but his heart and hard work more than made up for what he lacked in stature,
Thompson said.
As a friend, he was selfless and kind.
“If we had problems with grades, problems with the family or problems on the court, we always called Taylor.
He's always sensible, even if he's struggling with something himself, "he said.
US attacks ISIS targets in Afghanistan
Aug. 28, 202100: 31
Deagan William-Tyeler Page, 23
Corporal Daegan William-Tyeler Page served in the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment based at Camp Pendleton, California.
He planned to go to trade school and possibly become a lineman after his enlistment ended, his family said in a statement.
Page grew up in Red Oak, Iowa, and in the greater Omaha area.
He joined the
Marines
after graduating from Millard South High School.
His girlfriend, his parents, his stepmother and stepfather, his four siblings and his grandparents mourn him, the family said in a statement issued by a family friend.
The statement said the family did not wish to speak to the media at this time.
"Daegan will always be remembered for having a tough armor and a giant heart," the statement said.
“Our hearts are broken, but we are grateful for the friends and family around us during this time.
Our thoughts and prayers also go out to the other Navy families, whose loved ones died alongside Daegan. "
Wounded are taken to hospital after bombing near Kabul airport, Afghanistan;
on August 26, 2021 via REUTERS
Ryan Knauss, 23
Army Sgt. Ryan Knauss is remembered as a motivated man who loved his country and was eager to return to the United States and eventually move to Washington, DC, family members told WATE-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Knauss's grandfather, Wayne Knauss, told the television station that the family received word of Knauss's death on Friday and funeral services were being planned.
Knauss said her grandson attended Gibbs High School and grew up in a Christian home.
"A motivated young man who loved his country," said Wayne Knauss.
"He was a believer, so we'll see him again in God's heaven."
His stepmother Linnae Knauss said Ryan planned to move to Washington after his return to the United States.
"He was a super smart and funny young man," she said.
The US removes 4,200 people from Kabul and asks its citizens not to approach the airport
Aug. 28, 202100: 53
Hunter Lopez, 22
Hunter Lopez, whose parents work for the Riverside County Sheriff's Department in Southern California, was a sheriff's apprentice for three years before joining the Marine Corps in September 2017, Sheriff Chad Bianco said.
Bianco said Lopez planned to follow in his parents' footsteps and become a Riverside County deputy sheriff after his deployment.
David Lee Espinoza, 20
Corporal David Lee Espinoza, a Marine from Laredo, Texas, joined the military after high school and is remembered by his mother as a hero.
“He was
brave
enough
to go do what he wanted and help people.
He was him, just perfect, ”his mother Elizabeth Holguin told the Laredo Morning Times.
Medical personnel treat a man injured after the two explosions at Kabul airportWAKIL KOHSAR / AFP via Getty Images
Espinoza's death was confirmed by Federal Representative Henry Cuellar.
The congressman's press secretary, Dana Youngentob, said Pentagon representatives visited Cuellar's Washington office to inform him of Espinoza's death.
Cuellar's office also received an official death notice from the Pentagon.
In a statement, Cuellar said that Espinoza
“personifies the values of the United States: determination, dedication, service and courage.
When he joined the military after high school, he did so with the intention of protecting our nation and demonstrating his selfless acts of service. "
Cuellar concluded:
“The brave never die. Mr. Espinoza is a hero ”.