Among the Troops Who Died, Two Women on the Front Line

The Defense Department on Saturday officially identified the service members who were killed, and family and friends paid tribute to their lives and their sacrifice.

One of the last photos that Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee shared with her family from Afghanistan shows her in dusty body armor with a rifle, her long blond hair pulled back, her hands in tactical gloves. Amid the chaos of Kabul, those hands are carefully cradling a baby. It was a moment captured on the front lines of the airport, where Marines worked feverishly to shepherd tens of thousands of evacuees through chaotic and dangerous razor wire gates. It showed how, even in the tumult, many took time to comfort the families who made it through. In a short message posted with the photo, the sergeant said, “I love my job🤘🏼”