A marine killed in Kabul attack was pictured cradling baby at the airport in one of her last social media posts
- A Marine who died in the Kabul bombing posted about how she "loves her job" days before the attack.
- On August 21, Nicole Gee posted a photo of herself holding an Afghan child on Instagram.
- The 23-year-old from Sacramento, California was sworn into the Marines less than a year ago.
A Marine who was one of the 13 US service members who died in the ISIS-K suicide bombing outside Kabul airport on Thursday posted about how much she loved her job days before the attack.
"Kabul, Afghanistan. I love my job," Sgt. Nicole Gee posted on Instagram last week alongside a picture of her cradling an Afghan child.
The picture was taken last week as US servicemen were helping evacuate tens of thousands of people left vulnerable after the Taliban seized control of the capital.
Gee, who was from Sacramento, California, joined the Marines in 2017 and was promoted to sergeant three weeks before the Kabul attack, according to her Instagram account. She was 23 years old.
Although she was a maintenance technician, Gee was asked to search evacuees before they boarded flights, The Washington Post reported.
Her father, Richard Herrera, told the Post that he had "never expected her to be on the front lines in Afghanistan." However, he said that she told him "she was having the experience of her life."
"And I told her I was proud of her," he added.
She leaves behind her family and husband, Jarod Gee, who was also a Marine.
Misty Fuoco, Gee's sister, wrote on a GoFundMe page for the family that the 23-year-old and her husband "had a bond like nothing I've ever seen."
"I'm so devastated that he has lost the love of his life," she added.
One of Gee's friends, Mallory Harrison, also wrote an emotional tribute to her friend on Facebook, writing: "Her car is parked in our lot. It's so mundane. Simple. But it's there ... There was an explosion. And just like that, she's gone."
The suicide bombing attack, which also killed at least 170 Afghans, was also the highest US death toll in a single incident in the country in 10 years.
President Joe Biden said Saturday that another attack on Kabul airport is "highly likely in the next 24-36 hours," ITV reported.