The tragedy at Abbey Gate will go down in history as one of the worst stains on the already tainted legacy of former President Joe Biden, one of the most damaging commanders-in-chief ever to lead the nation.
During his rushed, poorly planned withdrawal from Afghanistan in August of 2021, an ISIS-K homicide bomber detonated his evil at the gate, one of the main entry points to Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, and slaughtered 13 U.S. service members and around 170 Afghan civilians.
“Remember Abbey Gate” became a powerful rallying cry for Gold Star families, and on Wednesday, the Department of War not only remembered our victims but also honored them for their bravery and sacrifice. Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell wrote on social media that they were upgrading the valor awards for the Marine company that tried to keep people safe during the chaos:
STATEMENT:
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) April 22, 2026
Following the Afghanistan Withdrawal Special Review Panel’s recommendation and at the direction of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, the United States Marine Corps has upgraded the valor awards for the Marines of Company G, 2d Battalion, 1st Marines, who stood at Abbey…
Following the Afghanistan Withdrawal Special Review Panel’s recommendation and at the direction of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, the United States Marine Corps has upgraded the valor awards for the Marines of Company G, 2d Battalion, 1st Marines, who stood at Abbey Gate on 26 August 2021. After reviewing the original awards and determining that several had been inappropriately downgraded, these awards have now been upgraded to levels that more accurately reflect the extreme risk these Marines knowingly accepted and the lives they saved under direct enemy fire.
MORE: Biden's Botched Afghanistan Withdrawal Is About to Get a Full Reckoning, Sean Parnell Reveals
The Marines knew of the danger they faced, yet stood proudly even as the conditions descended into utter chaos, Parnell said:
The Marines at Abbey Gate were positioned in the direct blast zone with minimal cover, fully aware of an imminent suicide attack, yet they held their ground to keep evacuation operations running. Their actions that day were heroic. The original awards did not reflect that reality. Today’s upgrades correct that injustice.
On this day, four years after the attack at Abbey Gate, we remember the 13 American heroes who protected their countrymen and made the ultimate sacrifice.
— Rep. Andy Ogles (@RepOgles) August 26, 2025
Their memory lives on, and their valor will be honored. pic.twitter.com/rzTumlBQFz
Parnell’s long tweet continued. The Afghanistan Withdrawal Special Review Panel, which he chairs, will examine where we failed our warriors and what we must do to make sure such a debacle never happens again.
This outcome also demonstrates what the Afghanistan Withdrawal Special Review Panel was created to do: examine the full record, identify where the system failed our warfighters, and ensure accountability and fairness. The Department of War, under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, is committed to getting this right. We will not allow valor performed at the point of friction to be diminished by bureaucratic or administrative shortcomings.
To the Marines of Company G and to every service member who stood at Abbey Gate: your actions were seen, your sacrifice was measured correctly, and your valor is now properly recognized.
The Panel will continue its broader work to ensure the lessons from 2021 are learned and that we never again place our warfighters in positions where their courage is not fully honored.
We owe the American people, the families of the fallen, and every service member who served in Afghanistan nothing less than the truth and the corrections that truth demands.
None of this can bring our fighters back, but it is the right thing to do to honor them in this way. In the meantime, Joe Biden and his gang should be hanging their heads in shame as we remember how they failed the country, our military, and the people of Afghanistan in their mad rush for political points.
Editor's Note: Thanks to President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's leadership, the warrior ethos is coming back to America's military.
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