During a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing about the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, Marine Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews described the “catastrophic” suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members on August 26, 2021.
Vargas-Andrews was one of the many injured in the attack. On Wednesday, he described that day.
“Then a flash and a massive wave of pressure, I’m thrown 12 feet onto the ground when instantly I knew what happened. I opened my eyes to Marines dead or unconscious lying around me,” he said.
Vargas-Andrews then paused and quietly sobbed before continuing and describing the tragedy.
“A crowd of hundreds immediately vanished in front of me and my body was catastrophically wounded with 100 to 150 ball bearings now in it,” he said. “Almost immediately, we started taking fire from the neighborhood and I saw how injured I was with my right arm completely shredded and unusable. I saw my lower abdomen soaked in blood. I crawled backwards roughly 7 feet because I thought I was still in harm’s way.”
“My body was overwhelmed by the trauma of the blast,” he continued. “My abdomen had been ripped open, every inch of my exposed body except for my face took ball bearings and shrapnel. I tried to get up but could not. Laying there for a few minutes I started to lose consciousness when I heard Chaz, my team leader, screaming my name as he ran to me.”
“Our military members and veterans deserve our best because that is what we give to America. The withdrawal [from Afghanistan] was a catastrophe in my opinion,” Vargas-Andrews stated.
