BOSTON (WHDH) - With candles lit in memory of those who have fallen, local service members commemorated a bitter end to two long decades of war.
For many local service members and their families, images of Taliban occupation have brought doubt and heartbreak.
RELATED: Kabul airport plunges into chaos as Taliban patrols capital
Mass. Fallen Heroes head Dan Magoon said there is a connection, not just with those who served alongside them, but the locals they met.
“I think there’s a lot of emotion and connectivity because we all left a part of our lives there. And we want to have done that for the benefit of the people of Afghanistan,” he said.
Joe Kelley’s son was killed in Afghanistan back in 2005 and says there is a school there named after him. He said that of the 600 children at that school, 200 of them are girls. Kelly said he hopes the Taliban will not change that.
“I’m in shock. There’s a lot of great Afghanistan people that helped support us when we were there and we just turned our backs on those folks,” he said.
Kelley said he is hopeful the work his son did while in uniform won’t be erased so quickly.
“I believe that my son and the others, the thousands of people that didn’t come back, planted the seeds of freedom,” he said. “And we hope that those seeds will spawn someday.”
RELATED:Biden: Afghan chaos ‘gutwrenching,’ but stands by withdrawal
Though, among everyone who gathered in Boston’s Seaport District Monday evening, all have one thing in common — all say that their service was not in vain.
“Men and women that raised their right hand to serve in our uniform since the attacks on 9/11 did make a change,” Magoon said.
“I’m proud as a soldier and as a military that the United States really cares about going out there and helping and protecting people who are vulnerable,” said Master Sargeant Nicole Lyon who served in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012.
Some who spoke to 7NEWS Monday say they still know people living in Afghanistan and they are hoping for their safe passage out of the country.
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