“Today we vow that we will never do that. May God bless each of our fallen heroes. May God bless all who have served and sacrificed. And may He be close to them and their families – today and always.”

The White House named the fallen soldiers as Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, Marine Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, Marine Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, Marine Cpl. Hunter Lopez, Marine Cpl. Daegan W. Page, Marine Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, Marine Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, Marine Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, Marine Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, Marine Lance Cpl. Dyland R. Merola, Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, Navy Petty Officer Third Class Maxton W. Soviak and Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Kauss.

These 13 Americans – and the many other injured – were “patriots in the highest sense of the word,” Biden said.

“Some were born the year the war in Afghanistan began. Others were on their second or third deployment. But all raised their hands to serve a cause greater than themselves – risking their own safety for the safety of their fellow Americans, allies and Afghan partners,” he said.

The 2021 bombing of the airport’s Abbey Gate and a nearby hotel killed more than 100 Afghans and marred the U.S. withdrawal from war-torn Afghanistan as the Taliban returned and took control.

The Islamic State Khorasan Province, a breakaway branch of the Islamic State based in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Five days later, the United States completed its evacuation from Kabul airport, evacuating more than 120,000 people and ending America’s longest war, which had lasted 20 years.

“Today, our longest war is over. But our commitment to preventing attacks on our homeland – or our people – will never be over,” Biden said. “We will continue to bring terrorists who plot against America to justice – just as we have done with the leader of al-Qaida and the global leader of ISIS over the past three years, and we will do so without sending thousands of American troops to fight ground wars abroad.”