It was one year ago that the Biden administration abruptly shut down U.S. military operations in Afghanistan.
And it was almost one year ago that a suicide bomber killed 13 American service members near the Kabul airport.
That bombing has, in effect, now claimed another victim.
Distraught over the death of his brother, 20-year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, in the Aug. 26, 2021, blast, Dakota Halverson, 28, of Norco, California, took his own life Tuesday morning, his mother said on social media.
“The month Of August has been very hard so far with the one year coming up,” Shana Chappell said in an Instagram post on Tuesday. “I look at my kids as strong and like they can handle anything. That was my mistake.
“My son Dakota has been talking a lot lately about how he just wants to be with Kareem, how much he misses him, etc…. We all feel that way so i didn’t see the signs. This morning my son Dakota went to be with His brother Kareem.”
She concluded by saying, “I am still in shock over this right now and i can’t believe that it’s real so please don’t think I’m rude if i don’t reply back to your comments or msgs. I just need some time. #check your #loved #ones ! #suicideawarness.”
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a news release on Tuesday that Halverson was found dead at Pikes Peak Park in Norco.
In a follow-up post days later, Chappell wrote, “The ripple effect! I lost two sons in less than one year, both of them in the month of August! …
“Dakota had been expressing some of the things that had been bothering him and one of those things was the loss of his brother Kareem and how he just wanted to be with him again. He was still having a hard time believing he was actually gone. He’d sneak into the cemetery at night and sleep on Kareem’s resting place.
“He took his life across from a permanent memorial we have here in town for his brother Kareem.
“I was so wrapped up in my own grief that i couldn’t see all the signs that were there! I’m not gonna make this a political post but this is the ripple effect! Now my kids have lost another brother. My family has lost another loving family member and Dakotas friends have lost a true friend!”
Chappell set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for funeral expenses, saying Halverson “wanted to be buried next to his brother.”
As of Monday afternoon, the fundraiser had taken in more than double its goal of $20,000.
Republican Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida, a colonel in the Army National Guard, shared a tweet with the GoFundMe link on Saturday, saying, “Please pray for his family.”
“There MUST be accountability for this continued carnage,” Waltz added.
The older brother of one of the 13 KIA in Kabul recently killed himself at his little brother’s memorial. Please pray for his family. There MUST be accountability for this continued carnage. https://t.co/7nPjpoqR4H
— Rep. Mike Waltz (@michaelgwaltz) August 13, 2022
Critical of the Biden administration for the quick pullout from Afghanistan, Chappell had invited former President Donald Trump to the funeral of her Marine son.
“I would love if somehow my President (you Mr. Trump) could be present as I lay my Beautiful baby boy, Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, to rest,” she said in a Facebook post on Sept. 2, 2021.
“It would be such an honor to meet the real President of the United States of America, President Trump,” Chappell said.
“I love you and America loves you.”
Upon hearing of the suicide bombing last year, Nikoui’s father, Steve Nikoui, a carpenter, took the day off work and was “glued to the TV” because he was aware his son was near the attack, the Daily Beast reported.
That evening, he instantly knew the truth when he saw young Marines coming to his doorstep.
They were more emotionally distraught than Nikoui and “I was actually trying to console them,” he said.
“But at the same time, I just wanted them to get out as soon as possible so that no one from my family came back and saw them. I thought it appropriate that I be able to tell them.”
He too blamed President Joe Biden for his son’s death.
“They sent my son over there as a paper pusher and then had the Taliban outside providing security,” Nikoui said. “I blame my own military leaders …
“Biden turned his back on him. That’s it.”
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