President Biden went to the dignified transfers of the United States service members at the Dover Air Force Base this Sunday, along with family members who were there in attendance. After this ceremony, President Biden met with some members of the families but as the Washington Post reports, one meeting went very badly.
The service members, who were made of Marines, a Navy Corpsman, and a soldier, died on Thursday when a suicide bomber attacked the gate at the Hamid Karzai Intl. Airport. Over 100 Afghans were also killed during the attack.
The family of Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum — his father, sisters and McCollum’s wife, Jiennah McCollum — were there for the ceremony, but only Jiennah met with Biden because the rest of the family did not wish to talk with Biden because they see him as being responsible for Rylee’s death:
“Jiennah, who is pregnant and expecting next month, met with Biden. But she was disappointed. President Biden brought up his son, Beau, she recounts in her story, describing his son’s service and subsequent cancer death. It struck the family as shallow and scripted, a discussion that lasted just a couple of minutes in ‘complete disregard to the loss of our Marine,’ the sister, Roice, said.”
“‘You cannot f— up like this as Biden did and say you are sorry,’ Roice reported about the president. ‘This did not have to happen, and everyone’s life is in his hands.’”
“The White House would not comment on the private discussions that Biden had with the families.”
The McCollums’ reaction goes along with what I was informed from sources near to some of these Gold Star families, who said a lot of the family members would not even want Biden to come to the dignified transfers.
“You cannot have a quick withdrawal after 20 years of being in war,” Paula Knauss, mother of Sgt. Ryan Knauss, said to the Post. “Because it is beyond me. It disgraces everyone who fought before and everyone who are now on the ground in other countries fighting, my son’s 82nd Airborne group is still there, and they deserve protection.”
Author: Blake Ambrose