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August 26, 2026 / 6:46 PM EDT
/ CBS News
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Five years after the attack at Abbey Gate in Kabul that killed 13 U.S. service members, the Pentagon upgraded the awards of three Marines for their actions in the wake of the blast. Service members were in the final days of the U.S. military's 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, and were helping to process evacuees at Hamid Karzai International Airport, when a lone ISIS-K suicide bomber detonated an explosive device outside one of the gates, Abbey Gate. The attack killed 13 Americans and 170 Afghan civilians. Retired Gunnery Sergeant Jonathan Eby, retired Lance Corporal Jordan Houston and retired Corporal Michael Gretzon were outside Abbey Gate when the bomb exploded. Despite the chaos, they provided care to the wounded and continued to process the crowd of evacuees. Eby and Houston were each presented the Bronze Star Medal with the device for valor, and Gretzon received the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with the device for valor. The distinguishing valor device is awarded for specific acts of combat or valor against an enemy force that's separate from an award given for general military service.A defense official said the initial approved awards for Houston and Eby were Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals with combat devices, and Gretzon initially was approved to receive a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with a combat device. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who presided over the ceremony and presented the upgrades, said their "fearless response represents the pinnacle of combat heroism. Simply put, valor." According to the award citation for Eby, he continued screening evacuees in the wake of the blast, while his platoon commander and half of his platoon were either wounded or killed by the terrorist attack. It said he took command and rallied forces to reestablish security amid the chaos before "working feverishly to evacuate injured."
