Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Tex.-“He was my hero,” Elizabeth Holguin, Espinoza’s mother, told the paper. “He was just brave enough to go do what he wanted and to help out people. That’s who he was, he was just perfect.”

Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole Gee, 23, of Roseville, Calif. – Sgt. Nicole Gee, 23, was from Sacramento, Calif., and identified by the Pentagon as one of the Marines killed in the Kabul attack. Gee was deployed as part of the Combat Logistics Battalion 24 with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, 31, of Utah – “He is a hero. He gave his life protecting those that can’t protect themselves, doing what he loved serving his country,” said Darin Hoover. “They look back on him and say that they’ve learned so much from him… One heck of a leader.”

Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tenn. – “We were led to think that it was 12 Marines and one Navy, and we knew our grandson was in the Army. So we were praying for the families of the Marines, not knowing our grandson was one of the ones who lost his life… You just don’t think it will be yours, I’m sure that you’ve heard that before,” his grandmother, Evelena Knauss, told The Daily Beast.

Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, Calif. – “He has been wanting to be a Marine since he was 10 years old and joined the Sheriff’s Explorer Post 14 at 14 years old. When his tour was over, Hunter wanted to continue to serve as a deputy with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. He wanted to be a SWAT officer. He was a badass Marine and a great brother and an awesome son,” the family said in a statement to NBC Palm Springs.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, 20, Jackson, Wyo. – “He wanted to be a Marine his whole life and carried around his rifle in his diapers and cowboy boots,” his sister, Roice McCollum, told the paper. “He was determined to be in infantry … Rylee wanted to be a history teacher and a wrestling coach when he finished serving his country. He’s a tough, kind, loving kid who made an impact on everyone he met. His jokes and wit brought so much joy.”

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. – Lance Cpl. Dylan Merola, 20, was from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., and identified by the Defense Department as one of the Marines killed in the attack. Merola was with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, 20, of Norco, Calif. – His father, Steve Nikoui, told The Daily Beast Kareen would often come home and bring Marines from his unit with him. “My wife and I felt very honored that [since] these other boys weren’t around their homes, that we were able to provide some sort of family life for them,” he said. “He really loved that [Marine Corps] family. He was devoted—he was going to make a career out of this, and he wanted to go. No hesitation for him to be called to duty.”

Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan William-Tyeler Page, 23, of Omaha –“Our beloved son, Corporal Daegan William-Tyeler Page, 23, was killed in Afghanistan yesterday. Daegan joined the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating from Millard South High School. He loved the brotherhood of the Marines and was proud to serve as a member of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif.,” reads a press statement from his family. “Daegan always looked forward to coming home and hanging out with his family and many buddies in Nebraska. To his younger siblings, he was their favorite jungle gym and to his friends, he was a genuinely happy guy that you could always count on. After finishing his enlistment, Daegan planned to come home and go to a local trade school, possibly to become a lineman.”

Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pinchardo, 25, Lawrence, Mass. – “In support of the ongoing evacuation, Sgt. Rosario Pichardo was screening women and children at Abbey gate when the attack took place Thursday afternoon,” according to Marine Corps Forces Central Command. “Her service was not only crucial to evacuating thousands of women and children, but epitomizes what it means to be a Marine: putting herself in danger for the protection of American values so that others might enjoy them.”

Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto Sanchez, 22, Logansport, Ind. – Cpl. Humberto Sanchez, 22, was from Logansport, Ind., and identified by the Pentagon as one of the Marines killed in the attack. Sanchez was with the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, 20, of Wentzville, Mo. – by his father on KMOX local radio. “This was something he always wanted to do, and I never seen a young man train as hard as he did to be the best soldier he could be,” Schmitz said of his son. “His life meant so much more. I’m so incredibly devastated that I won’t be able to see the man that he was very quickly growing into becoming.”

Navy Hospital Corpsman Max Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio – “But he was most proud to be a Navy corpsman and a Devil Doc for the Marines,” his father Kip Soviak said in an email to The Wall Street Journal. “His final words to my wife over FaceTime when he was telling her goodbye was—after she told him to be safe—and he said, ‘Don’t worry mom, my guys got me, they won’t let anything happen to me… Today she realized that they all just went together.’”