CHANTILLY, Va. — A fomer Afghan villager who famously saved an American special operator has safely escaped from Kabul airport with at least 6 members of his family. This was thanks to the help of at least a dozen US-based veterans and former special operators who worked for days to arrange the journey, according to one of the veterans involved.
WUSA9 agreed not to publish the individuals' names or images because they feared for the security of people who are left behind.
The reunion between the Afghan war hero and one of those who worked to get him out occurred outside the Dulles Expo Center Friday.
The men gathered around each other sharing embraces, greetings and handshakes.
Several children who had been evacuated watched after climbing into two waiting SUVs.
The center near Dulles airport is where some escapees from Afghanistan are being processed and released.
According to the veteran who helped with the escape, the Afghan man is a U.S. green card holder and U.S. resident who returned to Afghanistan several weeks ago to rescue family members despite a well-known Taliban bounty for his capture, the veteran said.
"It wasn't a matter of getting a flight, it was a matter of getting through the Taliban," the veteran explained.
The veteran described how he and a team of nearly a dozen others worked around the clock for days trying to make arrangements for the escape.
"We were first trying to move them from gate to gate at the airport. They just weren't getting admitted. So we ended up asking him to go to an offsite area, and then he met up with other American elements that were able to go outside of the airport, and they collected him out there," the man explained.
"These folks were there some of the first ones we helped move, but there are a lot more in the same circumstances," the man said.
"If they don't have an air bridge from Kabul. The ground bridges out are very dubious at all four borders to the country."
"I'm not looking forward to September 1," the veteran added.