When news that American military personnel have been killed comes out, those of us who have personal ties to those serving anxiously await for the names to see if anyone we know was lost. Defense Department policy is to hold the names for 24 hours after next of kin have been officially notified but, in the age of social media, family and friends often release the names more quickly. Now we have all of the names:
- Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, 20, Jackson, Wyo.
- Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, 20, of Wentzville, Mo.
- Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Tex.
- Navy Hospital Corpsman Max Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio
- Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, Calif.
- Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, 20, of Norco, Calif.
- Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, 31, of Utah
- Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan William-Tyeler Page, 23, of Omaha
- Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tenn.
- Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario, 25, Lawrence, Mass.
- Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto Sanchez, 22, Logansport, Ind.
- Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole Gee, 23, of Roseville, Calif.
- Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
I cobbled these together from WaPo and NYPost reports, both of which have more biographical details on the men.
Another two were lost and at least eighteen injured in the attack but, thus far, none of the names are of people I knew.
As I was reflecting on the events with students in seminar, I noted that, having taught at the Marine Command and Staff College the last eight years (indeed, the attack occurred on the anniversary of my first day in 2013) I had taught probably a hundred Marine officers who are now majors or lieutenant colonels. But, of course, they know a whole lot more Marines than I do (a single battalion has anywhere between 500 and 1000 and most of them have served in several different battalions at this point in their career) and, more importantly, knew a whole lot more young Marines, particularly in the enlisted force.
With the exception of SSgt Hoover and SSG Knauss, all of the men listed above were very young, likely in their first enlistment. Most of them were in diapers when the Twin Towers fell and the first US forces invaded Afghanistan in response.
In light of the rising anti-immigrant sentiment of the last few years, it’s worth noting the diversity of their last names. A lot of folks of other than Anglo-Saxon extraction are putting their lives on the line in our service.
Two of them—Sergeants Rosario and Gee— were women.
*I have updated the names in the list above based on the most current update to the above WaPo report and made slight modifications to the post as information flowed in.
