Maj. Geoffrey Ball, USMC, Afghanistan, Abbey Gate Terrorist Attack
From Veterans Chronicles by Radio America
March 18, 2026 · 36 min
About this episode
Maj. Geoffrey Ball recounts the events surrounding the Abbey Gate terrorist attack in Afghanistan and honors the service members who lost their lives.
On August 26, 2021, an ISIS-K terrorist attack killed 13 American service members and wounded many others at Abbey Gate outside Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan. Scores of Afghan civilians were also killed and wounded. Nine of the American service members killed that day were U.S. Marines from G Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines. Their company commander was then-Captain Geoffrey Ball. In this edition of Veterans Chronicles , Major Ball takes us through the chaos the company found when it arrived in Afghanistan on August 19. He tells about the heroic efforts of his unit and many others to establish as much order as possible among the many thousands of people desperate to reach the airport and leave Afghanistan before U.S. forces withdrew. Major Ball then walks us through the terrorist attack and the horrific toll it inflicted upon his company. He also shares what impact the explosion had on him and the details the amazing work of his company's Navy corpsman and other medics to save and stabilize those who were badly hurt. Finally, Ball tells us, in detail, about the service members who made the ultimate sacrifice at Abbey Gate, who they were, and what he appreciated…
People in this episode
Guest: Maj. Geoffrey Ball
Topics covered
- military history
- terrorism
- personal stories
- Afghanistan
- service members
- heroism
- chaos
Keywords
- Abbey Gate
- terrorist attack
- Afghanistan
- U.S. Marines
- ISIS-K
- military
- heroic efforts
- casualties
- medics
- service members
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: ISIS-K
Places: Abbey Gate, Kabul International Airport, Afghanistan
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