And such was the affable disposition of US Marine Sergeant Nicole Gee.
She could have helped others more, but she was killed in Afghanistan on August 26.
Every victim who died or was injured on August 26 had a story of their own, whether it was the American service members or the Afghans fleeing their country fearing a Taliban reprisal.
Our article on August 22, which we also shared on social media, was about how she and other members of the US armed forces, despite the daunting task at hand, found relief and joy comforting and playing with Afghan children at the Hamid Karzai International Airport.
Four days later, she, twelve of her colleagues, and more than 170 Afghan nationals were killed in terror strikes at the airport. Many more were wounded.
But how did it happen?
The Americans were all set to leave after two decades of presence in the country. But the sudden fall of the Afghan government took everyone by surprise.
A limited number of the US forces stayed back despite the unforeseen events and the ensuing risk to evacuate the Afghans who were in imminent danger.
Around 125,000 people were airlifted by the US in a matter of days in a near-chaotic scenario.
The feat was unprecedented, but it was not accomplished without paying a price.
With thousands of people outside the airport, vetting them and putting them on a plane was challenging enough. Then there was the imminent danger posed by ISIS-K, the Afghanistan offshoot of the Islamic State.
Days before the terrorists struck, even the Pentagon acknowledged the situation to be ‘perilous.’
Four days before the US would leave Afghanistan, a ‘complex’ attack by the ISIS-K involving suicide bombers got through the US defenses.
Armed and alert as the US troops were, the extremely crowded surroundings of the airport meant a vulnerability that could not be addressed. It was hard to secure the perimeter for a distance all around the airport.
As feared, the vulnerability was exploited by ISIS-K.
Nicole Gee
Nicole Gee, a 23-year-old year old US Marine Sergeant, who was one of the US troops seen comforting Afghan children at the airport only days before, was killed in the blasts. She would have been 24 this coming November.
Born Nicole Herrera, she married a fellow US marine, Jarod Gee. They both went to Oakmont High School in Rosewell, California.
Nicole Gee enlisted in the Marines in 2017, a year after her graduation from School.
She lost her mother in 2019, but she shared her accomplishments in the army with her all the same. ‘You would be so proud,’ she wrote to her deceased mother in an instagram post.
She had always wanted to help people and took pride in her work, said those who knew her.
She loved her work, and she posted pictures from her work on social media days before the terror attack.
She comforted Afghan children at the Kabul airport and was at an airport gate assisting women and children on the fateful day of the attacks when she fell victim to the bomb blasts.
Nicole’s passion for helping fellow humans had also extended to the voiceless animals which endured neglect or abuse.
As to her duties within the army, she excelled at what she did and made it as a Sergeant meritoriously.
The killing of thirteen service members did not deter the US, which finished the evacuation as planned.
The 20-year old war and military presence in Afghanistan, which began after the September 11 attacks in 2001, claimed more than 3,500 lives from the US-led coalition.
The US, the UK, and Canada account for around 3,000, and the rest were lost by other members of the coalition, such as France, Germany, and Italy.