Shana & Her Marines

Good morning,

Today marks the second anniversary of the Abbey Gate explosion in Kabul that killed 13 of our servicemen/women during President Biden’s pullout from Afghanistan.

A year ago, I was asked to interview families of the three Marines who lived in Southern California: Hunter Lopez (Indio), Dylan Merola (Rancho Cucamonga), and Kareem Nikoui (Norco). It was an experience I will never forget. Each family handled their grieving in different ways. They expressed anger in varying degrees on how the pullout was handled and yet they were determined to make sure the lives of their Marines counted for something. One thing that struck me was that in their anger and grief they never turned on America

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After these interviews, I was invited by Shana Chappell to ride along with her in a caravan commemorating her son, Kareem Nikoui, from San Clemente to Norco. I immediately said yes. I wondered how does a Marine mother who lost her son at the end of the Afghanistan war cope with President Biden’s indifference? He refused to say the names of the Fallen 13 for a year. Shana confided to me, I have nothing against George Floyd and his family, but why does the president call him a hero and not my son? What I saw that day during the caravan ride was the power of Americans coming together to find a way forward despite the senselessness and injustice they felt.

Here’s the article and video from that day:

All my best,

Eli