The remains of a U.S. Marine who was killed in the recent suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State in Afghanistan have reached his home in Massachusetts on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, 25, was one of the 13 U.S. service members who was killed in the Aug. 26 bombing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. She was checking women and children at the airport who were all trying to leave the country after the U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan. At the time, two large bombs exploded, killing her and 12 other U.S. service members and at least 170 Afghans, Fox News reported.
Rosario Pichardo served with the Naval Amphibious Force, Task Force 51/5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade. It was her second deployment in Afghanistan.
On Saturday, her remains reached Boston’s Logan International Airport, and her mother, grandmother, and three siblings were there in attendance. Governor Charlie Baker, Boston Mayor Kim Janey, and U.S. Senator Edward Markey were also present to pay their respects to the marine soldier and to her family.
A procession to the soldier’s hometown, Lawrence, followed where people lined up in the streets and waved their flags as the convoy of police, firefighters, and others escorted her casket. A Marine honor guard carried the flag-draped casket into a funeral home, Boston Globe reported.
“She’s coming home on the date, the 20th anniversary of the date, that created the war that cost her life,” said Francisco Urena, former state veterans commissioner.
A private funeral will take place Monday, and a public wake is set for Tuesday at Veterans Memorial Stadium, beside Lawrence High School, where Rosario Pichardo graduated. The burial will be at the Bellevue Cemetery.
