BY: Kendra Carpenter
During September in the State of California, there were families and friends mourning the deaths of Marines that were killed in a major bombing in Afghanistan. Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui was one of the many that lost their lives trying to save the people of Afghanistan. He was only twenty years old. Many gathered in a church in Riverside to pay respects to the fallen Marine. There was a total of thirteen marines killed while in Afghanistan, and more are continuing to die during this battle between the United States and the Taliban to attempt to bring peace to Afghanistan.
Even though no one wants to celebrate his death, Pastor Wozinak, who is over the Riverside church, stated that the Marine saved three families by taking them to safety before going back to the airport to save another child when the bomb took his life. A family member stated that it did not surprise her that he completed these actions while in Afghanistan. Nikoui wanted to be a Marine since childhood and fulfilled that assignment to the fullest.
Marine Hunter Lopez also lost his life to a blast going off while he was saving children from riots taking place. This Marine was a part of a crisis response team, a special response team that responds to high-risk situations. He was from Palm Springs. He was there to provide security and safety and help the evacuation of Afghan refugees and Americans that are still stuck in Afghanistan currently. Lopez had plans to follow in his fathers’ footsteps after serving his time as a Marine as a deputy at Riversides County’s Sheriff’s Department. All of the fallen Marines will be remembered for all of their courageous actions to help protect not just the United States but the people of Afghanistan as well.