Texas Roadhouse In Kentucky Honors 13 US Troops Killed In Kabul Attack In An Amazing Way
A tribute from a Kentucky restaurant manager to the 13 US servicemen killed in a terror assault while attempting to evacuate Americans and Afghan allies from Taliban-held Kabul on Thursday has moved people throughout the country.
St. Matthews Texas Roadhouse in Louisville, Kentucky manager Tyler Scott Parker made the touching tribute to the fallen American soldiers — with a photo showing 13 place settings each with a full pint of beer inside the restaurant.
Shout out to @texasroadhouse in Johnston, IA. Very cool tribute to the fallen soldiers this week. pic.twitter.com/8dKRt0zykn
— Brent Barnett (@25Barnett) August 28, 2021
“For the 13 fallen,” Scott Parker wrote on Facebook.
The post went viral after Americans across the country were moved by the tribute. The photo received strong praise and as of Sunday morning, it has gathered almost 5,000 likes and was shared more than 32,000 times.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10220768420061609&set=a.1570260377688&type=3
Scott Parker told Fox News that the simple gesture is to show solidarity for those grieving the loss of their loved ones in the suicide bombing incident near Kabul airport where US forces are currently winding up evacuation efforts.
“I really just wanted people to see it and know that as a company, we hear them,” he said.
In a separate post, Scott Parker also shared an image of the American flag flown at half staff at the restaurant’s rooftop — along with it, a melancholic caption still pertaining to the US loss of 13 soldiers in Afghanistan on Thursday, in what is now considered as one of the deadliest days of conflict since 2011.
“[Thirteen] doorbells will ring,” the post said. “13 flags will be given. 13 will never come home.”
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10220771178850577&set=a.1570260377688&type=3
A suicide bombing linked to the ISIS rocked Kabul’s main airport on Thursday killing 11 US Marines, a soldier and a Navy medic, according to reports, along with hundreds of people injured.
The 13 US servicemen killed
Those killed were Navy Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak, 22 (Ohio), Army Staff Sergeant Ryan C. Knauss, 23 (Tennessee), Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Darin T. Hoover Jr., 31 (Salt Lake City), Marine Corps Sergeant Johanny Rosario Pichardo, 25 (Massachusetts), Marine Corps Sergeant Nicole L. Gee, 23 (California), Marine Corps Corporal Hunter Lopez, 22 (California), Marine Corps Corporal Daegan W. Page, 23 (Nebraska), and Marine Corps Corporal Humberto A. Sanchez, 22 (Indiana).
The rest were 20-year old Marines Corps Lance Corporal David L. Espinoza (Texas), Marine Corps Lance Corporal Jared M. Schmitz (Missouri), Marine Corps Lance Corporal Rylee J. McCollum (Wyoming), Marine Corps Lance Corporal Dylan R. Merola (California), and Marine Corps Lance Corporal Kareem M. Nikoui (California).
Remember these names!
Heroes of our military who made the ultimate sacrifice
Maxton Soviak, 22
Kareem Nikoui, 20
David Lee Espinoza, 20
Rylee McCollum, 20
Jared Schmitz, 20
Hunter Lopez, 22
Daegan Page, 23
Ryan Knauss, 23
Darin Taylor Hoover Jr., 31& 4 whose names we’ll learn
— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) August 28, 2021
Meanwhile, Parker said he wanted to honor the slain military men and women since both of his grandfathers fought in the Korean War and his stepfather was a Marine during Desert Storm.
“It kind of hits home for me,” the manager of the Texas Roadhouse added. “When your family has served, and they’ve made it back, and then you think these 13 who have fallen and are not going to make it back.”
He added that as he was mulling over ways to pay his respects to the fallen soldiers, he said the Luke Bryan song “Drink A Beer” came to him.
“So I just was like, let’s go for it, and let’s put beers out on the table,” he continued.
Thursday’s attack on US forces was a tragic turn in the Biden administration’s already chaotic pullout of American troops in Afghanistan, and it also prompted a US drone operation to take down ISIS-K targets suspected of planning more attacks against Americans.
On Sunday, the US carried out another airstrike against a vehicle threatening the Kabul airport that had been linked to the regional Islamic State once again.
The ongoing turn of events in Afghanistan has also led to calls for resignations or impeachment from among the ranks of the Biden administration including President Joe Biden himself and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, among others.
