Three former U.S. Marines who were involved in the evacuation operation at Kabul Airport during the Western withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 have now received higher decorations. Gunnery Sergeant Jonathan Eby, Corporal Michael Gretzon, and Lance Corporal Jordan Houston were at Abbey Gate of the Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 26 when a suicide attack by the terrorist group ISIS-K killed 13 of their fellow Marines and 170 Afghan civilians who were waiting in front of the gate in hopes of leaving the country.
In the chaos following the attack, Eby took command after the leader and half of his squad had fallen to death or injury, restored security with the remaining forces, evacuated the wounded, and continued the gate’s access checks. Houston ignored his own injuries and, despite a concussion, gunfire, and tear gas, helped move several wounded Marines to safety, which, according to the award citations, saved their lives. Both initially received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device for their actions.
Chaos in Kabul
Gretzon continued to enforce the security measures despite his exposed and vulnerable position, thereby enabling the evacuation of critically wounded individuals. For this, he initially received the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device. On the fifth anniversary of the events, the awards for Eby and Houston were upgraded to the Bronze Star Medal with Valor Device, while Gretzon’s was upgraded to the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Valor Device. U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth presented them at a ceremony in the Pentagon.
During the ceremony, Hegseth stated that a special panel he had established to examine the Afghanistan withdrawal, chaired by Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, would complete its work by the end of the year. Congress had convened its own investigative commission after the withdrawal to derive lessons and recommendations from the entire 20-year Afghan war. Like many issues, the discussion of the events in the United States remains highly partisan.
The first administration of President Donald Trump had, in 2020, negotiated an agreement for the withdrawal of American troops with the Afghan Taliban; however, the chaotic 2021 withdrawal was ordered by his successor, Joe Biden. Both administrations did not coordinate with their allies. The result was a rapid collapse of the pro-Western government in Kabul and its security forces, which led to a mass exodus of refugees to the airport.
