Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto Sanchez was remembered Tuesday as a “gap filler and bridge builder” who gave his life to help American citizens and Afghan refugees trying to escape the Taliban.
Politicians including former Vice President Mike Pence and Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb praised Sanchez during his funeral in his hometown of Logansport, Indiana, about 100 miles southeast of Chicago. Sanchez was one of 13 service members killed during the Aug. 26 suicide bomb attack at Kabul’s international airport.
Sanchez, 22, had been working as an embassy guard in Jordan before he was ordered to assist the civilian evacuation in Afghanistan, Chaplain Capt. Blake Campbell said during the service at LifeGate Church.
“It was in this selfless act of bravery and courage that he gave the ultimate sacrifice and gave up his life in defense of the defenseless,” he said. “What we will do today is honor a perfect Marine.”
Pence, who was governor of Indiana before winning the White House with Donald Trump, said Sanchez died “defending innocent civilians fleeing from the chaos that had become Afghanistan.”
Citing news reports, he said Sanchez remained at the Abbey Gate outside the airport, the spot where the bombing took place, aiding adults and children even when it was clear the Marines would have to evacuate.
“Cpl. Sanchez didn’t run,” Pence said. “He was determined to get the kids out of the gate and he stayed at his post. No one will ever say it better than his mother did: In the final moments of his life, it was a work of art, doing everything he could to get those kids out of harm’s way.”
Zach Szmara, a pastor and friend of the family, said Sanchez possessed a sense of justice that showed up on the soccer field when opponents roughed up a teammate with a cheap shot.
“He would find a way to stand in the gap and make it right,” Szmara said. “Be it a hard tackle later in the game, or fighting even harder in the air for a header, he would make the opposing team know that he had seen the wrong and he was making it right.”
Holcomb said that aside from being an athlete, Sanchez was an artist and student whose laugh “brightened the lives of all those who were fortunate to know him.”
Sanchez enlisted in the Marines following his 2017 graduation from Logansport High School, one of 17 people in his class to join the military.
Szmara said that Sanchez, the U.S.-born child of Mexican immigrants, kept his love for his family’s homeland — he had a Mexican flag tattoo — while serving with the American flag on his uniform.
“I share all of this because I think sometimes we can have a flawed vision of America,” Szmara said. “We wrongly believe unity means uniformity. … There is richness and beauty in each of our immigrant neighbors and who they are, their values, their languages, their food, their families, their hard work, their culture. They make us better together, they make us stronger, because immigrants are a blessing, not a burden.”
The service, which was livestreamed, was followed by a procession to Mount Hope Cemetery in Logansport, where Sanchez was laid to rest with military honors.
Twitter @JohnKeilman
![The Niles village board approved its $127 million budget for the 2025 fiscal year, which begins May 1, at the board of trustees meeting on April 23. The figure includes tax increment financing operating expenses and capital improvement projects for the village. The board approved the budget with an 8% increase in revenue and an 8% increase in expenses. The budget includes $30 million in capital improvement projects and $10 million in grants from the state and federal government. Revenue The budget expects a 1% increase in sales tax from the 2024 fiscal year to the 2025 fiscal year, which […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/migration/2023/09/30/RSRSP2H2KVAHPOMR45EJU5CGPM.jpg?w=535 "The Niles village board approved its $127 million budget for the 2025 fiscal year, which begins May 1, at the board of trustees meeting on April 23. The figure includes tax increment financing operating expenses and capital improvement projects for the village. The board approved the budget with an 8% increase in revenue and an 8% increase in expenses. The budget includes $30 million in capital improvement projects and $10 million in grants from the state and federal government. Revenue The budget expects a 1% increase in sales tax from the 2024 fiscal year to the 2025 fiscal year, which […]")
