The United States’ longest war is over, but the battle for Afghan-Americans to recover their families is just beginning.

Henry, an Afghan-American translator, is…one of…many people…dealing with the fallout of the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal… After the last group of U.S. military took flight from Afghanistan…hundreds of Americans and Afghan allies…were left behind, including Henry’s wife, brother, and children…

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Henry, who received his U.S. citizenship in 2020…lives and works in the United States, so when the Taliban advanced into Kabul…his first priority was getting his family…out…

“I received an email from the U.S. Embassy. They had a pass in the email. It said ‘please go to the airport,’ …” Henry told The Federalist.

Henry’s family rushed to…[the] airport…but when they got there, they met…thousands of other[s]…hoping to reach the U.S.-controlled area where they could catch a…flight…It took them two days to navigate their way through the desperate mob…

Once they got inside the terminal, Henry’s family faced another crowd…hoping to get bussed to a departure spot…his wife and kids sat for two more days in the heat without any supplies. …Henry lost contact with his family because his wife lost her phone…after being jostled by other panicked people…

“My family and everybody else was asking about water because the kids were getting unconscious…And I was…helpless and…trying to see if I can talk to one of those marine soldiers…[to] provide some water to them. And they were saying they don’t even have water…,” Henry said.

Henry also tried calling some of his friends in the military…in Afghanistan to see if they could help his family.

“…[M]e and my…Marine friends were…begging…those guys…to at least provide some water for those people… And finally they would, from somewhere, find…two or three bottles of water,” Henry said…

It wasn’t long before Henry said people were instructed to go home or risk dehydration and starvation…

“My wife, she said…’I’m gonna stay here. If they’re gonna take me, I’m gonna stay here so I can go and get with the dad of my kids together,’” Henry said. …

After six days of waiting, Henry said buses finally came to get his wife and kids…When his family failed to show a U.S. passport or green card, they were told to go home.

“All they had was the Afghan passports and…the path that I sent which was from the U.S. Embassy,” Henry said…

“After six days, somehow these people, like angels, they fall from the sky and say ‘we will do our best to get to your family here…’ And I shared that with my wife. And she got so happy…,” Henry said.

Much like the Pineapple Express, the group assisting Henry is using covert, private operations to assist Americans…This “hodgepodge” of individuals…are “actively shepherding” people who are at risk…out of the country.

Others are using their knowledge and relationships with translators and connections on the ground to relay information to…rescuers who have the skills and resources to complete private missions…

These same individuals are also assisting Henry[‘s]…family into U.S. immigration proceedings. Henry previously spent months bouncing between bureaucratic agencies and even hired an expensive lawyer to help him get his family to the United States through the same program he used…

But when these “angels” swept in, they also paid Henry’s lawyer and helped expedite the process…

The rescue mission for Henry’s family is still underway…

“I’m so happy,” Henry said. “I hope my family would come here soon so we can go and see these people up close and hug these people. Their kids are praying…for my daughters, every day.”

Does the work of these American “angels” make you feel proud? Share your comments and prayers below!

(Excerpt from The Federalist. Article by Jordan Davidson. Photo Credit: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images).