Maxton William Soviak, a man in his 20s who was a Navy Corpsman, died at the hands of Islamic terrorists on Thursday outside of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan.
Soviak was from the small Ohio town of Berlin Heights where he graduated from Edison High School in 2017. He was on the honor roll and football team, the Sandusky Register reported.
“Max was a good student who was active in sports and other activities throughout his school career. He was well respected and liked by everyone who knew him,” the school said in a statement, the New York Post reported.
WKYC-3 in Cleveland reported that Soviak’s mother confirmed his death. She provided a photo of her son to the outlet and said the family asked for privacy as they face this tragedy.
But Max’s sister posted a heartbreaking tribute to her younger brother on Instagram:
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. he was a fucking medic. there to help people. and now he is gone and my family will never be the same. there is a large Maxton sized hole that will never be filled. he was just a kid. we are sending kids over there to die. kids with families that now have holes just like ours. i’m not one for praying but damn could those kids over there use some right now. my heart is in pieces and I don’t think they’ll ever fit back right again.
View this post on Instagram
The New York Post reported on Max’s last Instagram post:
Soviak’s last Instagram post, written 11 weeks ago, shared a chilling message beside a photo of him decked out in military gear with two other service members.
“It’s kill or be killed,” Soviak wrote in the post.
“definitely trynna be on the kill side.”
View this post on Instagram
WKYC-3’s report continued:
The Navy also confirmed in a brief statement Friday that one of their sailors was killed during the attack at the Abbey gate in Kabul, but did not provide many details at this time.
“We mourn the loss of this Sailor and we offer our deepest condolences to the loved ones of our fallen shipmate,” according to the Navy’s statement.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, meanwhile, has ordered all American flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of the lives lost in the Kabul attack. The order, which also includes Ohio flags, must be flown at half-staff at all public buildings and grounds until sunset on Monday, Aug. 30.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.