Local Hero: Honoring Cpl. Kelsee Lainhart on fourth anniversary of Kabul bombing

(LOGAN, Ind.) – We want to take a moment to honor a local Marine and the service she has given our nation. 

Today marks four years since a suicide bomber at the Kabul Airport took the lives of 13 United States service members. 

One of the Marines seriously wounded was Cpl. Kelsee Lainhart. 

The 2019 East Central graduate was part of the Female Search Team and was assisting with evacuation efforts at the airport on August 26, 2021.

"I was on my hands and knees on top of a retaining wall trying to get a young boy back to his mother since they did not have the correct documentation to get into the airport. A suicide bomber detonated an IED as I was helping the young boy and I immediately couldn’t feel my legs. I suffered a T1/T2 spinal cord injury, TBI, and several soft tissue wounds from the blast," she said.

Kelsee now lives with the emotional and physical scars from that horrific attack, but refuses to give up.

“The saying, ‘live for the ones who can’t,’ has had a big impact on me as it is a reminder that regardless of how awful a situation may be, living for the ones who lost their lives is the best way to honor them," Kelsee said.

Kelsee is now enrolled in Interior Design School and hopes to merge beauty and accessibility in homes. 

“I am driven by wanting to improve my life and others in any way I can, whether that is trying new physical therapy or medications, or helping others when I have the ability to do so,” she said. 

Kelsee was recently named a recipient of a specially-adapted smart home through the Gary Sinise Foundation. 

She is hoping to find property in the Bright/Lawrenceburg/Logan/ West Harrison area where the home can be built. 

“As this will be a long term/forever home, I would ideally like 5-20 secluded acres with beautiful sunset views and not too far from the highway,” she said. 

If you know anyone who has property for sale in that area, feel free to contact the Jay Knowles Realty Group, where Kelsee’s brother is a member of the realtor group. Their number is (812) 577-2712. 

RELATED: Lainhart participated in the Chicago Triathlon while recovering in 2022. Watch that story here.

Remembering the 13 U.S. soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice on August 26, 2021: