Tyler Vargas-Andrews was only three years old when the helicopters struck the twin towers on September 11, 2001.
Although he couldn’t have known it at the time, the events of that day and the decades-long war that followed would have had a profound impact on his life, far more than the regular American or even the majority of soldiers.
Vargas-Andrews, 27, was a 23-year-old lieutenant in the United States when he was one of the final Afghan casualties in nearly 20 years. And on Thursday, he received Massachusetts Fallen Heroes ‘ 2025 Daniel H. Petithory Award, named in honor of the first Bay State man to pass away during the war.
The first and the last
Sergeant. In the first few days of Operation Enduring Freedom, First Class Petithory was killed by pleasant fire in early December 2001. Hamid Karzai, the potential president of Afghanistan, was also hurt by the bomb that killed Petithory and two other American service people.
Vargas Andrews was a child and too fresh to realize that his nation was at war at the time.
Vargas-Andrews said that he knew he wanted to serve his country from a youthful age despite not having a military community. Up until the 10th class, he attended Vanden High School, a Fairfield, California district where the kids of service users stationed outside Travis Air Force Base were also present.
He claimed to have witnessed what company meant when “one if no both” of his friends ‘ families were frequently deployed as the Global War on Terror entered a next generation.
The desire to serve finally became unavoidable as the conflict continued to grow throughout his entire childhood.
I felt called to serve, and I’m glad to say that I chose a route where I could do the most excellent for others, he said.
He enlisted in the Marines in August 2017 and was later assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, or” the Experts,” according to his enlistment. Like all Marines, he was a soldier but likewise a rifle.
He was a “professionally instructed attackers and stereo operator for his hero team,” according to parliamentary records that document his service. Vargas-Andrews claims that he spent the majority of his time “pursueing the reputation of those who came before us” in the Marines ‘ recruitment.
He claimed that it was “almost four times to the day” after his recruitment that he had been given the task of assisting in the evacuation of American employees, property, and friends from Afghanistan at Hamid Karzai International Airport, named for the then-president who had been critically injured almost 20 times earlier on the day Petithory passed away.
According to records, he and his team “represented the main floor surveillance and observation tool during evacuation procedures at Abbey Gate” and “represented the assistance of over 200 United States nationals in the removal and digesting of over 200 Americans in Kabul, Afghanistan.”
A suicide bomb detonated bombs outside the Abbey Gate on August 26, 2021, as the departure was taking place. Vargas-Andrews was one of the dozens of American soldiers who were filmed in the explosion that claimed the lives of 13 assistance people and at least 169 Afghan citizens.
Vargas-Andrews suffered severe injuries. He required 49 surgeries after losing both his right shoulder and left calf. He spent decades recuperating at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
However, he was not finished it.
Vargas-Andrews has spent the time attempting to assist his own soldiers in learning to live with their own wounds and cure where they can since he was clinically retired from defense services. He has run in sports all over the country, testified before Congress, and has become a health recommend.
coming back to basics
According to Massachusetts Fallen Heroes ‘ executive producer Dan Magoon, choosing Vargas-Andrews to obtain the Daniel H. Petithory Award this year was a “no-brainer.”
According to Magoon, Tyler is a brave, steadfast warrior. According to Magoon, Vargas-Andrews has lived his life after serving in “brother and lady soldiers and gold-star people.”
” And he’s used that experience and the horror that he endured to impart that message of resilience. You are never a target, he has a tagline. He described him as an “unbelievable Sea” because of how he carries himself and gives more to another.
In a statement to the Herald prior to Thursday’s award presentation, Vargas-Andrews was wonderfully optimistic in light of his dreadful circumstances. He explained when asked how he manages to maintain his souls, but continuing to serve is very helpful.” It’s not always quick,” he said.
He said,” I owe it to my companions who died to try to be happy and live a good life.” The Marine Corps “has given me the citizens I love most in my life and helped shape me into the person I am now.”
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