Hubert, a disabled veteran, erects a memorial for the victims of the bombing of Kabul airport three years ago

A disabled war veteran in eastern North Carolina on Monday commemorated the third anniversary of the deaths of a dozen American soldiers, including one from Camp Lejeune, in a suicide attack on the evacuation of American citizens from an airport in Afghanistan.

John Hayduke of Havelock served in the U.S. Navy from 1974 to 1978, in a helicopter search and rescue squadron on the USS Oriskany and the USS Coral Sea.

“It was something I will never forget. I met a lot of great people and I’m still friends with all of them,” he said. “Yes, we meet and remember the people we lost.”

Annette Weston

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Public Broadcasting East

These days, he spends most of his time building memorials for U.S. soldiers who have died in the line of duty, including Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Sergeant Nicole Gee and 12 other service members killed in a bombing in Kabul in 2021.

Hayduke said his own experiences in the Navy have called him to make sure the words “never forget” ring true, including the death of a captain who was killed in a botched landing aboard an aircraft carrier during a training exercise.

“The co-pilot slid across the deck and survived, but the pilot fell into the sea and couldn’t release his parachute and died,” he said. “There was nothing we could do. We got to him, and we got to him, but we couldn’t release the strap from his parachute.”

In the early morning hours of October 23, 1983, the headquarters of the First Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment was destroyed by a truck loaded with explosives. The attack killed 241 Marines, sailors and soldiers, whose memory is commemorated in the Lejeune Memorial Garden. Hayduke is pushing for a memorial to be built for those killed in Kabul three years ago.

Annette Weston

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Public Broadcasting East

“Hopefully I’ll get permission to put up a monument like that at the memorial up in Jacksonville. At Montford (Point).”

Hayduke maintains a Facebook page called “Fallen Hero Tribute Rocks” where he dedicates his art to those who have died in the line of duty.

The memorial to the victims of the Kabul attack will remain in the front yard of Hayduke’s home at 300 South Windy Ridge Rd. in Hubert until the end of the month.