LANSING, Michigan (WILX) – On Monday, the Lansing Veterans Council held its first bilingual memorial ceremony at Evergreen Cemetery for soldiers who died during the U.S. military evacuation from Afghanistan.

Three years ago, a suicide attack on Kabul airport killed 183 people, including 170 Afghans and 13 US military personnel.

Afghan citizens who were at the airport during the attack spoke at the ceremony, remembering the men and women who protected them and the hundreds of lives lost trying to flee the country.

“We remember these soldiers. There is not much we can do for them. We just pray and know that we will always remember them in our hearts,” said Abdul Samad Sakhra, an Afghan refugee.

“I think this will be something we remember and grow from every year because we can learn so much from it and do so much to honor and remember those we have lost,” said event organizer Michele Fickes.

The event included a wreath-laying ceremony for the 13 service members killed in the attack. Five days later, the United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan, evacuating more than 120,000 people.

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