Remains of Marine who died in Kabul airport blast returned home on 9/11

The remains of a U.S. Marine who died in an attack on Afghanistan’s international airport late last month returned home on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Sgt. Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, 25, was one of 13 American service members who were killed on Aug. 26 when a suicide bombing occurred Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

The attack was believed to be carried out by ISIS-K.

Pichardo’s remains returned to Massachusetts on Saturday, according to CBS Boston.

People lined the highways in Pichardo’s hometown of Lawrence, Mass., as a vehicle processional made its way through the city, the news outlet reported.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R), Boston Mayor Kim Janey (D) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) paid their respects to Pichardo’s family at the airport, according to The Associated Press.

Pichardo is one of the last fallen American service members to return home following the attack, according to Reuters. She enlisted with the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade after graduating from high school in 2014.

According to an obituary from Farrah Funeral Home, Pichardo died as she was screening women and children at the Abbey Gate.

A public visitation is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 14. She will be buried in her hometown of Lawrence.

Pichardo’s return comes at a sobering time on the 20th anniversary of the terror attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001. Four planes were hijacked and crashed at three sites in the U.S. including New York City, the Pentagon in Virginia and Shanksville, Pa.

Overall the events caused nearly 3,000 deaths and sparked America’s longest war in Afghanistan. The U.S. withdrew the final troops from Afghanistan on Aug. 31, days after the attack on the airport.

Many of those who died in last month’s attack were between the ages of 20 and 25, meaning they were just children when the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks occurred.