Five years ago, 13 American service members were killed at Abbey Gate during the final, chaotic days of America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Eleven Marines, one soldier, and one sailor reported for duty that day, surrounded by thousands of desperate people trying to escape a country falling back into Taliban control. At 5:36 p.m. on Aug. 26, 2021, an ISIS-K terrorist detonated a suicide bomb in the crowd, killing those 13 Americans and countless Afghan civilians.

For me, the anniversary of Abbey Gate is deeply personal. I served over 20 years in the United States Marine Corps and Navy, deploying to combat zones in Africa, the Persian Gulf, and Afghanistan. In Kandahar, I led the emergency medicine department and felt the cost of war: lost limbs, traumatic brain injuries, and catastrophic wounds that changed young Americans’ lives forever.