At a House Foreign Affairs Committee roundtable discussion today, families of the 13 servicemembers who were tragically killed during the US evacuation from Afghanistan shared heartbreaking personal accounts of the excruciating pain and agony they have endured over the past two years as they continue to seek answers from the Biden Administration over its egregiously flawed withdrawal.

            “You have touched all of our hearts in the most profound way,” Rep. Smith, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told the parents of the fallen servicemembers at the roundtable.

            “Words are inadequate to express our condolences,” said Smith. “You have suffered so much, and the cover-up that has followed for the last two years just adds salt to the wound.”

             Oftentimes holding back tears, the family members conveyed the incredible courage and heroism of their loved ones who assisted innocent victims at Hamid Karzai International Airport desperately fleeing the Taliban’s unspeakable cruelty, violence, and terrorism amid the chaos that ensued around them.

             “Nicole and the other heroes who evacuated over 120,000 allies did not have any part in starting this war, but they gave their very last breath to see it to the end,” said Christy Shamblin, the mother-in-law of Marine Corps Sergeant Nicole Gee, who was pictured cradling a baby in her arms at the Kabul airport in a post she shared on Instagram just a week before she was killed. The caption read: “I love my job.”

            “Nicole spoke about how very proud she was to be rescuing vulnerable and fearful people,” Shamblin continued. “I vividly remember her telling me, ‘these mothers are throwing their babies over razor wire because they know we will keep them alive.’”

Gold Star families who lost their loves ones during the US evacuation from Afghanistan share heartbreaking personal accounts of the excruciating pain and agony they have endured over the past two years at a congressional roundtable hosted by the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, August 29th.

            In addition to sharing heart-wrenching stories, the grieving parents also made clear their demands for answers—and accountability—from the Biden Administration for the tragic events that led to the loss of their sons and daughters.

            “We want answers, we need answers, and we expect those answers,” said Darin Hoover, the father of Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Taylor Hoover. “I want to know why this current Administration isn’t able to take responsibility for their actions in the days, the weeks, and the months leading up to this fateful day.”

            “Words are cheap in Washington,” said Smith, who called on President Biden, Secretary Blinken, Secretary Austin and General Milley to meet with the Gold Star families in a similar roundtable discussion where they can convey the horror they have faced and the horror that their loved ones endured because of the Administration’s disastrous exit.

            “There needs to be a truly independent, comprehensive investigation into all of the very valid questions you have asked,” added Smith. “We need to have honesty here, and we need high-level, outside people who know how to ask hard-hitting questions—perhaps even a blue-ribbon commission—to investigate this.”

“We need answers,” Smith said. “We need it now, so the Biden charade and spin ends. It has to be the truth, and nothing but the truth.”

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