The US Marine Corps has posted a photo on Twitter of the flag-draped caskets of their fallen brethren killed in Thursday's suicide bomb attack in Kabul.
The shot shows the caskets being flown back to the US on a C-17 Globemaster military transport.
The caskets later arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for a solemn transfer ceremony Sunday morning, which was attended by Joe Biden.
The Corps tweeted: 'Flag-draped transfer cases line the inside of a C-17 Globemaster II Aug. 29, 2021, prior to a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware.
'The fallen service members died while supporting non-combat operations in Kabul. Gone, but never forgotten.'
Eleven of the servicemembers killed in Thursday's suicide bombing were Marines. They were: Hunter Lopez, Rylee McCollum, David Lee Espinoza, Kareem Nikoui, Jared Schmitz, Daegan Page, Taylor Hoover, Humberto Sanchez, Johanny Rosario, Dylan Merola and Nicole Gee.
Also killed were Navy corpsman Max Soviak and Army Staff Sergeant Ryan Knauss.
The US Marine Corps posted a photo to Twitter Sunday evening, of the flag flag-draped caskets of their fallen brethren killed in Thursday's suicide bomb attack in Kabul, after the coffins arrived back on home soil at Dover Air Force base in Delaware, August 29, 2021
President Joe Biden attended the Sunday transfer ceremony, as well as other heads of the military, August 29, 2021
Pictured: Sydney Robison, center, looks on during a vigil for U.S. Marines Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, in Salt Lake City. Hoover was among the 13 US troops killed in the suicide bombing in Afghanistan
Tammy Merryweather looks on during a vigil for U.S. Marines Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, in Salt Lake City
A portrait of U.S. Marines Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover is displayed during a candle light vigil, Aug. 29, 2021, in Salt Lake City
Their remains arrived at Dover Air Force Base, at 8am for the ceremony, which was attended by families of the fallen soldiers as well as dignitaries including President Biden, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and the heads of the military and the first lady.
Biden stood solemnly, hand on heart, as body after body was carried past him.
His eyes fixed on each transfer case as it move from plane to van, first lady Jill Biden beside him. From time to time he bowed his head as if in silent prayer.
The only other sounds were the quiet commands of honor guards in battle dress and white gloves who carried the cases, and the hum of the C-17 aircraft.
'The 13 service members that we lost were heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of our highest American ideals and while saving the lives of others,' he said in a statement a day earlier.
'Their bravery and selflessness has enabled more than 117,000 people at risk to reach safety thus far.'
Relatives of the fallen were hidden from view behind a line of buses.
Their presence became obvious as the second flag-draped transfer case emerged from the plane to the sound of anguished howling.
The brother of Max Soviak, one of 13 U.S. service members killed in the airport suicide bombing in Afghanistan's capital Kabul, embraces an unidentified person at a vigil in Berlin Heights, Ohio, U.S., August 29, 2021
Pictured: A memorial service is held on the steps of the Utah State Capitol for U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover on August 29, 2021 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Hoover was one of the 13 U.S. service members killed on August 26, 2021
Marines escort family members of Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover for a memorial service on the steps of the Utah State Capitol on August 29, 2021 in Salt Lake City, Utah
Marines stand at attention at the Utah State Capitol during a memorial service for Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover on August 29, 2021 in Salt Lake City, Utah
US army veterans hold flags as they attend a vigil for Navy Corpsman Maxton 'Max' W. Soviak at Edison Middle School in Berlin Heights, Ohio on August 29, 2021
The photo was taken prior to the fallen soldiers' 'dignified transfer' ceremony (pictured) Sunday Morning at Dover Air Force Base, as their remains were moved onto US soil
Pictured: A Marine Corps carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan William-Tyeler Page, 23, of Omaha, Neb., Sunday, August 29, 2021
A flag-draped transfer case with the remains of a fallen service member are placed inside a transfer vehicle as US President Joe Biden attends the dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, August, 29, 2021
Left to right: Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo
Marines Corps Corporals left to right: Daegan W. Page, Hunter Lopez, Humberto A. Sanchez
Their deaths, killed by an ISIS-K suicide bomber on Thursday, as they protected an airlift of Americans and vulnerable Afghans, brought into stark focus the risks of ending the U.S. war in Afghanistan and the potential political cost to Biden.
The withdrawal of U.S. forces allowed the Taliban to regain power, after an almost 20-year war and the cost of 2,400 American military lives.
International allies have openly accused the president of blindsiding them with his rush to exit by August 31.
And his handling of the crisis - blaming Afghan troops for failing to fight the Taliban and his predecessor's peace deal with the enemy - triggered withering criticism from all sides at home.
Marine Corps Lance Corporals left to right: Kareem M. Nikoui, Dylan R. Merola, Rylee J. McCollum, Jared M. Schmitz
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza (left) and Navy Hospitalman Maxton W. Soviak (right)
People gather at the Utah State Capitol for a memorial service for U.S. Marines Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover on August 29, 2021 in Salt Lake City, Utah
Community members release balloons at a vigil for Max Soviak, one of 13 U.S. service members killed in the airport suicide bombing in Afghanistan's capital Kabul, in Berlin Heights, Ohio, U.S., August 29, 2021
Pictured: People gather at the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial for a candlelight vigil August 28, 2021 in Arlington, Virginia
The Pentagon's policy is to return America's fallen troops to their loved ones as quickly as possible.
Once the aircraft lands at Dover AFB, service-specific carry teams remove the transfer cases individually from the aircraft and move them to an waiting vehicle, according to information from Dover's office of Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations.
The vehicles then transport the fallen to the mortuary facility at Dover for positive identification by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System and preparation for transport to their final resting place.
The transfer event, which the military does not consider a ceremony but rather 'a solemn movement of the transfer case', can be open to the press for photography and video at the discretion of the fallen troop's family.
Pictured: Flag-draped coffins of service members killed in action are loaded onto a transport aircraft during a ramp ceremony at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan August 27, 2021
Messages are seen written on a flag-draped coffin of one of the service members killed in action during a ramp ceremony at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan August 27, 2021
Condolences poured in from across Massachusetts and dozens gathered in a vigil Saturday upon learning that a Marine from Massachusetts was among the U.S. service members killed in a suicide bombing.
The family of Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo was notified Friday evening and asked for privacy, said Jaime Melendez, director of veterans services in Lawrence, where Rosario attended high school.
'We will not allow her to be forgotten,' Melendez said.
Dozens attended a vigil in Rosario's memory Saturday afternoon in Boston that was hosted by Massachusetts Fallen Heroes, an organization founded by veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
'My veteran community is grieving. My Gold Star family members are feeling the shock all over again. Should it have happened? Never. What can we do as a community? We can stand behind the our military right now and pray,' said Mary Ellen Callahan, who lost a Marine son in Iraq.
Jeff Lau, a U.S. Army veteran, led the group in a moment of silence.
'This has been a tough couple of weeks for this country, and that's an understatement, especially for the Afghan community and for the veteran community. It's gut wrenching,' he said.
Gov. Charlie Baker called Rosario 'a Massachusetts hero gone too soon.' U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, called Rosario a hero whose 'selfless service represents the best of our country.'
U.S. service members act as pallbearers for the service members killed in action during operations at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan August 27, 2021
U.S. Marines react during a Ramp Ceremony for service members killed in action during operations at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan August 27, 2021
The Dominican Republic's embassy in the United States tweeted that Rosario was originally from that Caribbean nation.
Sonia Guzman, the Dominican Republic's ambassador to the United States, tweeted that the Dominican community shares in the loss.
'Peace to your soul!' she tweeted in Spanish.
Rosario served with the Naval Amphibious Force, Task Force 51/5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, which praised her efforts as supply chief this spring and thanked her for a job well done.
In Lawrence, Massachusetts, Mayor Kendrys Vasquez said he had been in contact with the family and said he and other residents were saddened that one of the suicide bombing victims 'was a daughter of our city.'
The family wishes for privacy 'and that their loved one be recognized as the hero that she was,' the mayor said.
Melendez said people have strong feelings about the U.S. involvement that's coming to an end after two decades in Afghanistan.
'There are people on both sides of the fence. I get it,' he said. 'This is about one of our own, a daughter of Lawrence. For us it is definitely about her service and her family's sacrifice. That's what will be focusing on.'
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