An Ohio Navy medic is among the 13 Americans killed in Thursday’s bombings outside the Kabul airport in Afghanistan.
Max Soviak, of Berlin Heights, was a 2017 graduate of Edison High School where he was on the football, track, wrestling, and tennis teams and was in the school band, according to Thomas Roth, superintendent of Edison Local School District.
The news of Soviak’s death was “devastating for us,” Roth said Friday.
“He just enjoyed life, he was full of life. He was a good kid, a good student and people just enjoyed being around him,” the superintendent said.
“I didn’t know Max as well as many, he was in one of my son’s classes. He was very active in school,” Roth said.
The small community about 50 miles west of Cleveland is mourning Soviak’s loss with plans to have a moment of silence at Friday night’s high school game against Bellevue, Roth said, adding that the district is still in the planning stages of honoring Soviak.
Roth said it is always special when students from Edison local schools enter military service, and the community was proud of Soviak serving as a Navy medic.
“We’re very proud of all of our students who move on to the military life as they graduate… to protect the rest of us, we’re just so proud of those kids.”
Roth said Soviak represented the school and community with great honor.
Afghanistan latest:Death toll jumps after ISIS-K bombings, U.S. evacuations resume
Rachel Soviak, contacted Friday morning, said the family was not ready yet to talk about the tragedy.
On Instagram, Max’s sister Marilyn Soviak posted Friday, “I’ve never been one for politics and i’m not going to start now. What I will say is that my beautiful, intelligent, beat-to-the-sound of his own drum, annoying, charming baby brother was killed yesterday helping to save lives.”
USA TODAY reports the death toll from the blasts includes 11 U.S. Marines, a Navy hospital corpsman, and another service member whose branch was not immediately identified, American officials said. At least 18 U.S. service members were injured. It was the deadliest day for American forces in Afghanistan since August 2011.
The Navy’s press office released this brief statement today:
“WASHINGTON — One sailor was killed during the August 26 attack at the Abbey gate of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. We mourn the loss of this Sailor and we offer our deepest condolences to the loved ones of our fallen shipmate. The name of the Sailor will be released 24 hours after notification of next of kin.”
About 169 Afghan people died, officials told the Associated Press. CBS News was reporting that number at 170.
Gov. Mike DeWine on Thursday night ordered all U.S. and Ohio flags in the state to be flown at half-staff on all public buildings and grounds until sunset Monday to honor the lives of U.S. service members and other victims killed in t he Kabul attack.
Source Article from https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/local/2021/08/27/ohio-navy-medic-max-soviak-killed-afghanistan-sandusky-edisonmarines-kabul-airport-attack/5615293001/
Comments