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WASHINGTON — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth upgraded the awards of three Marines who served in the Abbey Gate bombing, blasting the Biden administration for not properly recognizing them in order to “avoid uncomfortable political truths.”
Hegseth marked the five-year anniversary of the day a suicide bomber killed 13 service members and 170 civilians in an attack on Kabul airport during the flawed August 2021 evacuation with a ceremony at the Pentagon.
“For half a decade, this building allowed bureaucratic caution, or maybe politics, to stand in the way of proper recognition,” Hegseth said of the Marines.
Then-President Joe Biden was heavily criticized for the deadly and poorly executed American evacuation from Afghanistan. There were insufficient American forces on the ground in Afghanistan to handle the onslaught of desperate civilians trying to escape with them.
Lawmakers, military members, and families of the fallen all slammed Biden’s actions.
“A military that downplays its frontline heroes to avoid uncomfortable political truths only projects weakness,” Hegseth said on Wednesday in a ceremony to mark the anniversary.
“For too long, leadership in this capital city failed to match that frontline courage with administrative backbone, inappropriately downgrading the original award submissions that these men rightfully deserved,” he added.
“The world watches how we treat our heroes.”
He praised the three Marines — Gunnery Sergeant Jonathan Eby, Corporal Michael Gretzon, Lance Corporal Jordan Houston— for holding the line during the chaotic withdrawal, rescuing wounded comrades and keeping the perimeter secure during the bombing.
Their battalion was aiding with security at the airport for evacuating American citizens and Afghan allies.
“They stood in the direct blast zone with minimal cover, fully aware of an imminent suicide threat,” he said.
“Yet they stayed on that line because they knew that their brothers in arms and thousands of innocents depended on them.”
Hegseth awarded the Bronze Star Medal with “V” device for valor to Houston and Eby. Gretzon was awarded the Navy & Marine Corps Commendation Medal with “V” device.
The Biden administration claimed their hands were tied by the 2020 Doha Agreement negotiated by the Trump administration, which set a withdrawal deadline without leaving a viable transition plan.
Trump, then between White House terms, said at the time that Biden was playing “a new disinformation game” to distract from “their grossly incompetent SURRENDER in Afghanistan.”
“Biden is responsible, no one else!,” he said on social media.
Once he returned to the White House, Trump hosted the families of the fallen service members and facilitated the arrest of Mohammad Sharifullah, identified as being behind the Abbey Gate attack.
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