BOSTON — Candles were lit at the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial to offer a light of hope to vets and Gold Star families who are stunned by the sudden fall of Afghanistan.
“My son was killed in Afghanistan in 2005,” said Joe Kelley from Scituate.
Kelley’s son, Sgt. Michael Kelley, served in the National Guard and was killed after a Taliban attack on the plane he was onboard.
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“What’s really upsetting to me is there’s an army of over 300 Afghanistan soldiers that left [and] didn’t even defend their own country. My son died for their country,” Kelley said.
Dan Magoon, who runs the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes Memorial, organized the vigil because what happened in Afghanistan is frustrating to vets.
“It has been a traumatizing weekend to say the least,” Magoon said.
He said many vets and Gold Star families have reached out to Dan worried about the quick collapse of Afghanistan and those left behind.
“Everyone is definitely surprised about how things unfolded since Friday, and obviously [are] concerned about our friends stuck in Afghanistan,” Magoon said.
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In Afghanistan, panicked people flocked to Kabul’s airport because the lives of American allies are now on the line. But through all the chaos, Joe Kelley is confident his son’s life was not lost in vain.
“And I believe my son and the thousands of people that didn’t come back planted the seeds of freedom, and we hope the seeds will spawn someday,” Kelley said.
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