Sec. Hegseth Honors 3 Marines Amid the Abbey Gate’s Withdrawal: We’re Here to Look You in the Eye and to Deliver the Recognition You Earned

TRANSCRIPT:

Hegseth: “Gunnery Sergeant Jonathan Eby, Corporal Michael Gretzen, and Lance Corporal Jordan Houston. Gentlemen, Marines, welcome. Today, we’re here to look you in the eye and to deliver the recognition you earned five years ago, because of what you did at Abbey Gate was not just a display of exceptional tactical skill and bravery It was the very definition of the warrior spirit that we’re reviving here and that preserves our nation and underpins our national defense. The mission these Marines were given was almost unfathomably unpredictable, difficult, and fraught with an unknown amount of risk, yet known at the same time, which is sort of the worst duality. And they stood in the direct blast zone with minimal cover, fully aware of an imminent suicide threat. Yet they stayed on that line because they knew that their brothers in arms and thousands of innocents depended on them."