The article reports on the five-year anniversary of the bombing at Kabul's Abbey Gate in Afghanistan that killed 13 US service members and around 160 civilians, including a 20-year-old Marine named Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz. Mark Schmitz, Jared's father, says that while grief doesn't get easier, it gets different over time, and his family has channeled their energy into building a nonprofit organization called Freedom 13 to help veterans and first responders through weeklong stays at a camp in Missouri. The camp will have facilities such as playgrounds, swimming pools, and shooting ranges, and the Schmitz family's annual gala raised over $900,000 last year. Another gold star family has also established a nonprofit organization in memory of their son, Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, which has raised over $70,000 for scholarships and placed trained dogs with veterans suffering from trauma.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-26,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Five years ago, on August 26, 2021, a suicide bomber detonated a vest at the Abbey Gate of Kabul airport in Afghanistan, killing 13 U.S. service members and approximately 160 civilians. The attack was carried out by ISIS-K, and it marked one of the final days of the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.
Since then, the families of those killed have struggled to cope with their loss. Mark Schmitz, a gold star father, said that "it doesn't get any easier" but rather gets different as time passes. He and his family have channeled their grief into starting a non-profit organization called Freedom 13, which aims to build camps for first responders, veterans, and their families.
Others, like Rep. Rich McCormick, have criticized the Biden administration's handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan. McCormick, who served in the Marines and Navy for over 20 years, says that the collapse of Afghanistan was a "betrayal" by the administration.
A new documentary, "The Path to Zero," has shed light on the chaotic evacuation efforts, showing footage of Afghan forces turning their guns on civilians and local allies being slaughtered by the Taliban. The film also highlights how Abdul Rahman al-Logari, the ISIS-K member who carried out the Abbey Gate bombing, was released from prison after U.S. troops left Afghanistan.
Rep. Matt Van Epps has questioned why there has been no apology for the Biden administration's role in arming the Taliban and contributing to the chaos that unfolded in Kabul. The U.S. had spent over $2 trillion on the fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan, resulting in more than 2,400 American lives lost.
Written for “US Withdrawal from Afghanistan” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
Five years ago, 13 families had their worst nightmares realized and forever became known as the Abbey Gate gold star families.
asserted
nightmares → have → families
One thousand eight hundred and twenty-five days consisting of birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, and daily interactions have passed without their loved ones who were killed when an ISIS-K suicide bomber detonated a suicide explosive vest that killed 13 U.S. service members and roughly 160 civilians in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Recommended Stories
asserted
that → consist → Stories
“We all struggle in our own ways from time to time.
asserted
We → struggle → time
I mean, it doesn’t get any easier.
asserted
it → mean → ?
It just gets different,” gold star father Mark Schmitz told the Washington Examiner.
asserted
Schmitz → get → Examiner
“We personally have channeled our energy and focus into trying to turn a tragedy into a positive.”
asserted
We → channel → positive
Channeling grief into action
For the Schmitz family, they’ve funneled their grief into a new nonprofit organization called Freedom 13, which is a nod to the 13 service members killed five years ago.
asserted
which → channel → members
The organization is looking to build camps consisting of one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes for first responders, veterans, and their families for weeklong stays while they get assistance with mental health counseling, job training, and service dog placement.
asserted
they → look → counseling
The first camp the organization is building is in Bourbon, Missouri.
asserted
organization → build → Bourbon
Two of the 13 houses planned have already been built, and it is getting ready to break ground on three more.
asserted
it → plan → three
Given how expensive and time-consuming construction was, they now intend to open the facility to the public once the three additional houses are complete, which Schmitz said is expected to happen before the end of the year.
asserted
Schmitz → give → year
The Schmitz family holds an annual gala around Jared’s birthday in late February.
asserted
family → hold → February
Last year, they raised more than $900,000, which enabled much of the construction that has taken place since then.
asserted
that → raise → place
Helping and caring for veterans is “what gets us through every day [
asserted
what → help → day
and] throwing all of our efforts and attention into building this organization to accomplish good, and obviously in memory of our son, and the other 12 as well,” Schmitz said.
asserted
Schmitz → throw → son
His son, Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, was only 20 years old when he was killed.
asserted
he → kill → ?
Jared was only six months old when al Qaeda carried out the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001.
asserted
Qaeda → carry → Sept.
“The five-year anniversary really snuck up on us — at least me — at times,” Darin Hoover, the father of Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, 31, told the Washington Examiner.
asserted
Hoover → sneak → Examiner
“And at other times it just crept by just slower than slow.”
asserted
it → creep → times
His family set up a nonprofit organization in the staff sergeant’s memory.
asserted
family → set → memory
The organization, which hosts annual 5K races with live music, food trucks, and more, has raised and given out more than $70,000 in scholarships to students coming out of high school.
asserted
which → host → school
They have also placed eight trained dogs with veterans who suffered trauma while in service.
asserted
who → place → service
The elder Hoover said the most recent dog they placed was with a veteran he’s known for about 10 years, who had struggled “big time with [post-traumatic stress disorder].”
asserted
who → say → disorder
He added, “To hear from him and hear from his girlfriend how much that dog has changed him makes all the difference in the world.
asserted
dog → add → world
Makes just a huge difference, and it keeps propelling us forward to continue to do that.”
asserted
it → make → that
One of the service members injured in the Abbey Gate bombing, Marine Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, who lost an arm and a leg in the blast, also got paired up with a service canine through the memorial.
asserted
who → injure → memorial
Families still want accountability
Both fathers voiced their frustration with the senior Pentagon and government leaders involved in the evacuation and are hopeful that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s latest investigation into the withdrawal provides them with answers they’ve yet to receive.
asserted
they → want → answers
“This has been kept so quiet,” Hoover said.
asserted
Hoover → keep → ?
“We’ve not been kept in the loop.
asserted
We → keep → loop
Everything — we’re pretty much in the dark right now, other than saying it would be done this summer, and here we are coming towards the end of summer.
asserted
we → ’re → summer
And like I said, I’m cautiously optimistic, but it’s getting to the point where OK, we need something.”
asserted
we → say → something
At the time, late August 2021, the U.S. military was set to leave at the end of the month — an end date that had already been moved up due to the deteriorating security situation — and U.S. forces had already reduced their presence in the country.
asserted
forces → set → country
They handed over Bagram Air Base and its detention facility to the Afghan Army the month prior, which quickly fell to the Taliban.
asserted
which → hand → Taliban
That decision, which meant the noncombatant evacuation operation had to occur out of Hamid Karzai International Airport, has long been questioned, and Trump has spoken during his term about trying to reacquire it.
asserted
Trump → mean → it
They were at Hamid Karzai International Airport, where U.S. troops were facilitating evacuation flights for Americans and Afghans who worked with the United States and would be at risk under a Taliban regime.
asserted
who → facilitate → regime
With tens of thousands of people swarming the airport gates every day in late August 2021, the U.S. military had picked up intelligence that ISIS-K, the Afghanistan branch of the Islamic State, could target U.S. forces.
uncertain
K → swarm → forces
The Schmitz and Hoover families are two of the 13 that gained the gold star title on Aug. 26, 2021.
asserted
that → gain → Aug.
The other Marines killed in the bombing were Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, 25; Sgt. Nicole Gee, 23; Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22; Cpl. Daegan Page, 23; Cpl. Humberto Sanchez, 22; Lance Cpl. David Espinoza, 20; Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, 20; Lance Cpl. Dylan Merola, 20; and Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, 20.
asserted
Marines → kill → bombing
Navy hospital-man Maxton Soviak, 22, and 23-year-old Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Christian Knauss were killed as well.
asserted
Soviak → kill → ?
Abdul Rahman al Logari was identified as the bomber who killed more than 170 people five years ago.
asserted
who → identify → people
…and 5 more, not listed.
