Pentagon Upgrades Valor Awards for Marines Impacted by Attack During Afghanistan Withdrawal

The Pentagon credited the Marines with continuing to support evacuation efforts despite receiving indications of an impending attack.

A U.S. Marine passes out water during the evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 21, 2021. U.S. Marine Corps/Isaiah Campbell/Getty Images

U.S. Marines who manned a checkpoint in the face of an impending suicide bombing during the 2021 civilian evacuation from Afghanistan have had their valor awards upgraded, the Pentagon announced on April 22.

The Marines of Company G, 2d Battalion, 1st Marines, were tasked with guarding the Abbey Gate entrance to the Kabul airport on Aug. 26, 2021, when a suicide bomber approached the checkpoint and set off his explosive. Thirteen U.S. troops and around 170 civilians were killed in the blast, with dozens more injured.