Seth Udinski, FISM News
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As the bodies of the 13 fallen U.S. military members killed in the Kabul airport attack return home, the families of those brave men and women are left asking the question, “Why?”
Darin Hoover, father of Staff Sergeant Taylor Hoover (U.S. Marines), said of his beloved son,
He is a hero. He gave his life protecting those that can’t protect themselves, doing what he loved serving his country.
While some in the media are praising the Biden Administration for its handling of the crisis in Afghanistan, many others, including some of the family members of these fallen heroes, are demanding accountability from the White House. Many have expressed anger directly at President Biden, blaming him for the deaths of their loved ones due to his mishandling of the situation in Afghanistan. Many are also appalled at the President’s lack of tact towards those grieving families.
Hoover went on Fox News along with Mark Schmitz, the father of Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz (U.S. Marines). In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, these two fathers shared their anger and hurt at President Biden. Hoover was appalled that Biden appeared disinterested and repeatedly looked down at his watch while the caskets draped in the American flag were brought off the aircraft. He said,
That didn’t happen just once. It happened on every single one that came out of that airplane….They would release the salute, and he would look down at his watch on every last one, all 13, he looked down at his watch. As a father, seeing that and the disrespect, and hearing from his former leaders, one of [Taylor’s] master sergeants said … that this was avoidable — that they left them over there: They had them over there and let them down, and we can’t have that. It can’t happen ever again.
It's true. Joe Biden checked his watch during the dignified transfer of the servicemembers killing in Afghanistan at the airport. You can see him jerk his left hand to pull the watch out from under his sleeve, then look down at it. pic.twitter.com/M3QVzJbTIm
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) August 29, 2021
Schmitz added his feelings, saying,
I didn’t want him (Biden) anywhere near us…Initially, I wasn’t going to meet with him. But then I felt I owed it to my son to at least have some words with him about how I felt – and it didn’t go well. He talked a bit more about his own son than he did my son, and that didn’t sit well with me.
After Biden did this, Schmitz then defended his son and the 12 other heroes to the President, saying,
Don’t you ever forget that name. Don’t you ever forget that face. Don’t you ever forget the names of the other 12. And take some time to learn their stories.
Schmitz said that the president responded in a passive-aggressive manner to this, saying, “I do know their stories.”
The sister of slain father-to-be Marine Rylee McCollum also expressed her disdain for the president following the dignified transfer saying,
“You can’t [mess] as bad as he did and say you’re sorry. This did not need to happen, and every life is on his hands.”
It was reported that some family members of the slain heroes also left the room when Biden came in to visit them to express his condolences.