As members of the Taliban celebrated the return of their heavy-handed and violence-fraught regime, many of the families of those who served during America’s longest war turned inward this week.

We recalled the sacrifices made by our sons, our daughters, our spouses, our parents and many more.

For some of us, those loved ones did not come home.

For others, those loved ones came home wounded, some greatly.

And for many, those loved ones came home with less readily apparent impacts that have led to physical unwellness, mental health issues, ailments of the spirit and, far too often, suicide.

Monday was the first anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in the wake of a U.S. withdrawal so ill-handled by the Biden Administration that it will no doubt hold a place in military history as an exemplar of failure.

That withdrawal left an estimated 15,000-plus American civilians and contractors in harm’s way and provided weaponry and cash left behind by the collapsed government we spent a literal trillion dollars to establish, equip and support to the Taliban.

That withdrawal left behind as well those we had called our allies, the men and women who aligned themselves with our mission, our promise, of Operation Enduring Freedom, to face the wrath of those who quickly fill the void in a manner not to be unexpected.

On Aug. 26, 2021, just days after the Taliban takeover, suicide bombers and gunmen, attacked the airport in Kabul. They killed 183 people trying to leave the county and they killed 13 American military personnel doing their duty to aid in the evacuation effort.

One year later, the violence in Afghanistan continues.

On Wednesday, the Associated Press reported the latest bombing, this one at a mosque in Kabul during a an evening prayer service. Early reports have counted at least 10 people, including a cleric, dead. At least 27, including “several” children, were wounded.

President Biden had few to no words to say this week on the anniversary of his blame-it-on-Trump withdrawal in 2021. Nor did he have much of anything to say in memory of the deaths of our military personnel who gave their all, sacrificed their lives, in the waning days of Operation Enduring Freedom, where freedom lives no more.

So here, let us remember, and mark, just shy of one year later, those American troops left to assist, as best they could, the tens of thousand trying to evacuate following the Taliban takeover.

We pause in memory of:

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David Lee Espinoza, 20, of Laredo, Texas.

Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole Gee, 23, of Roseville, Calif.

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, 31, of Utah

Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tenn.

Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, Calif.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, 20, of Bondurant, Wyoming.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem Mae’Lee Nikoui, 20, of Norco, Calif.

Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan William-Tyeler Page, 23, of Omaha

Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Mass.

Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Ind.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, 20, of Wentzville, Mo.

Navy Hospital Corpsman Maxton Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio

And let us remember, too, all of the 2,448 U.S. service members who were killed and 20,752 service members who were wounded in a war that was launched as a result of an attack on American soil.

While the outcome may have not been what was hoped for, while the endgame may have ended not with a win or military defeat, but a flipped-over gameboard with pieces still in play, they did their duty when their country called them.

And they made American safer as a result.

We thank you, and your families, for your sacrifice.

— Breeze editorial