The last time Navy Hospitalman Maxton Soviak spoke to his mother, it was in a FaceTime call telling her not to worry. “My guys got me,” he said. “They won’t let anything happen to me.” According to the family, those same friends perished with him in Thursday’s Kabul bombing. The revelation came in a statement Saturday by the Soviak family, who praised Soviak and his service. “Max was a wonderful son who loved his family, his community, and was proud to serve in the U.S. Navy,” the statement read. “We are struggling to come to grips with this personal tragedy and prefer to grieve with close family and friends.” The family said Soviak was a star athlete at Edison High School in Ohio, a state-level player in both wrestling and football. But it was his service as a “devil doc” that made him most proud, hoping to make the Navy his full-time career. “We are incredibly proud of his service to our country,” the family wrote.

Soviak was one of the 13 U.S. soldiers killed in the fatal Kabul bombing Thursday. He had 12 brothers and sisters, the family said. “We will miss Max tremendously,” they wrote.