Washington, D.C. — August 25, 2025 — President Donald J. Trump has proclaimed August 26, 2025, as a national day of commemoration marking the fourth anniversary of the Abbey Gate attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, where 13 U.S. service members were killed in a suicide bombing during the chaotic withdrawal from the country in 2021.
Calling the incident “one of the darkest days in our Nation’s history,” Trump paid tribute to the 11 Marines, one Navy corpsman, and one Army soldier who lost their lives in the blast, along with dozens more who were wounded and more than 160 Afghan civilians who perished.
The President sharply criticized former President Joe Biden’s handling of the withdrawal, blaming the evacuation strategy and the loss of Bagram Airfield for enabling the attack. Trump said the bombing “lived on in American memory as the moment our credibility was all but lost — until the clock struck noon on January 20, 2025.”
He highlighted his administration’s actions earlier this year, including the capture of the ISIS-K militant alleged to have carried out the attack, announced during his March 4 address to Congress.
“To those who lost a son, daughter, brother, sister, husband, wife, or family member at Abbey Gate in 2021 — we offer you our enduring love and unwavering devotion,” Trump said in the proclamation. “We will never forget you; we will never forsake you; and your memory will live on forever.”
The proclamation encourages all Americans to honor the heroism of the fallen and the sacrifice of Gold Star families.
