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SharrellAnne @SharrellAnne2 - Five years ago today, 13 American service members were killed at Abbey Gate.
Over the last five years, I’ve had the privilege of getting to know some of their families, and I’ve watched them grow through grief that most people cannot begin to comprehend.
And I do mean grow through it, because grief like this changes you.
I’ve watched people who were absolutely shattered learn how to stand again. I’ve watched them find their voices, figure out who they are after the worst thing imaginable happened to them, and turn unimaginable pain into purpose. I’ve watched them become advocates, fight for answers, honor their loved ones and reach back to help other families walking into the same nightmare they never asked to know so well.
Not because they “moved on.” You don’t move on from this.
You learn how to carry it.
Today, five years later, I don’t just think about the 13 we lost at Abbey Gate. I think about the families I’ve watched fight their way through five years of grief while making damn sure the people they love are never reduced to a number.
SSgt Darin T. Hoover
Sgt Johanny Rosario Pichardo
Sgt Nicole L. Gee
Cpl Hunter Lopez
Cpl Daegan W. Page
Cpl Humberto A. Sanchez
LCpl David L. Espinoza
LCpl Jared M. Schmitz
LCpl Rylee J. McCollum