Pentagon Awards Upgraded Valor Medals to Three Marines Five Years After Abbey Gate Attack

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth presented upgraded valor awards Wednesday to three Marines who played critical roles during the Abbey Gate bombing of August 26, 2021, marking the fifth anniversary of the attack that killed 13 American service members. Hegseth announced the medal upgrades at a Pentagon ceremony, stating that original award submissions for the men had been “inappropriately” downgraded in the years following the deadly incident during the final U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan.

Gunnery Sergeant Jonathan Eby and Lance Corporal Jordan Houston received upgraded Bronze Star Medals with “V” devices for valor, while Corporal Michael Gretzon was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with a “V” device for valor. Hegseth used the occasion to criticize Pentagon leadership for allowing “bureaucratic caution, or maybe politics” to delay proper recognition of their heroic actions, declaring at the ceremony that “those days are over.”

Eby, then a staff sergeant, was screening evacuees from an exposed position when the suicide bomber detonated his device. After his platoon commander and half his platoon were wounded or killed, Eby assumed command, reorganized his remaining Marines to secure the perimeter, and coordinated the evacuation of wounded personnel. According to his citation, his actions “undoubtedly saved the lives of many.”

Houston regained consciousness after being knocked down by the blast approximately 32 feet away and found himself covered with shrapnel wounds. Despite his injuries and exposure to continued danger, he remained in position to shield fellow Marines and administered lifesaving medical care to those more severely hurt. Marine Corps Commandant General Eric Smith noted that Houston concealed his injuries because he feared being removed from combat and later extracted shrapnel from his own body before seeking medical treatment.

Gretzon also sustained shrapnel wounds to his arm severe enough to require a tourniquet that he applied himself. After receiving initial treatment from medical personnel, he immediately returned to his squad and continued providing assistance until his platoon sergeant directly ordered him to the casualty collection point, Smith said.

The suicide attack by ISIS-K resulted in the deaths of 13 American service members, including Marine Staff Sergeants Darin T. Hoover and Ryan C. Knauss of the Army; Sergeants Johanny Rosario Pichardo and Nicole L. Gee; Corporals Hunter Lopez, Daegan W. Page, Humberto A. Sanchez, and five Lance Corporals: David L. Espinoza, Jared M. Schmitz, Rylee J. McCollum, Dylan R. Merola, and Kareem M. Nikoui; and Navy Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak.

The Pentagon’s Afghanistan Withdrawal Special Review Panel continues its examination of the attack and broader circumstances surrounding the withdrawal. Panel chair Sean Parnell disclosed Wednesday that investigators recently recovered “highly relevant classified documents” that should have been disclosed but were “stashed and hidden away in safes where they would not be found,” though he did not reveal the documents’ contents or identify who allegedly concealed them.

Defense Secretary Hegseth indicated that the comprehensive Afghanistan review remains ongoing and that the department expects to deliver a complete report by year’s end. At the ceremony, he emphasized that the three Marines’ valor is now “officially, permanently, and properly recognized,” stating they embody the principle of “peace through strength.”