Legionnaires pay tribute to U.S. servicemembers killed during the U.S. withdrawal in 2021.
In a small park next to James H. Anderson Post 1199 in Orangeburg, N.Y., is a row of flat red bricks, etched
with the names of 13 U.S. servicemembers killed five years ago this month in a suicide bombing at Abbey Gate outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
At night, miniature lanterns illuminate photos and service emblems of the 11 Marines, soldier and sailor lost during the chaotic U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan.
“We want to show respect, that not everybody has forgotten them,” says Tom Warren, an Army veteran and Post 1199’s chaplain. “There are a handful of people in this country who think about those 13 every day.”
Remembering the indifference and hostility he and others faced when they came home from Vietnam, Warren vowed to honor the memory of the “Afghan 13.” He went to Joe Chimenti, Post 1199’s finance officer, with an idea for a memorial.
They began raising funds, but a series of Eagle Scout projects – landscaping, benches, a paved pathway, memorial bricks – gave the project momentum. Piece by piece it came together, and on Aug. 25, 2024, local and state officials joined Post 1199 at a dedication ceremony.
Chimenti also created personalized photo albums for the 13 families. Last year, Augustus Ruser Jr. Post 273 in Madeira Beach, Fla., made a special book presentation to Paula Knauss-Selph, mother of Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss. “Some of the families heard about the memorial and the books we prepared, and they called me,” Chimenti says. “Nine families have received theirs. We have four to go.”
He invites family members of the Afghan 13 to contact him at jrchimenti@gmail.com. Click here to watch a video of the memorial’s dedication.
- Honor & Remembrance