The father of a U.S. marine killed in the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan delivered a powerful and moving speech on Tuesday, calling on Joe Biden and military leadership to be “grown a–” men and resign over their handling of the crisis. Darin Hoover Sr. is the father of Staff Sgt. Darin Hoover Jr. was killed by a suicide bomber in 2021 while trying to evacuate civilians during the Fall of Kabul. The elder Hoover appeared before a congressional forum, demanding accountability for the mistakes that led to his son’s death.
“I’m calling out Secretary Blinken, Secretary Austin, General Milley, General McKenzie, Lt. Col. Whitehead — who could not give the order to the snipers to take out the bomber before he detonated his vest — and ultimately, the president,” Hoover testified. His son was 31 years old at the time of his death. “Mamma, I’m safe; I love you,” was the last text he sent to his mother before the attack.
“Do what our son did. Be a grown-ass man. Admit your mistakes. Learn from them so that this doesn’t happen ever, ever again. You all need to resign immediately. Our sons and daughters have more integrity in their little toes than every one of them combined.” ~ Darin Hoover Sr.
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When the Biden administration withdrew U.S. forces from Afghanistan in August 2021, Taliban forces quickly swept the country, seizing billions in military equipment and taking control of the capital city of Kabul. The suicide bombing, carried out by ISIS-K, occurred amidst the chaos of the evacuation. According to a report by the Washington Free Beacon, more than 88,000 refugees who fled to the U.S. during that time still have not been vetted.
“You owe it to our families here today, to the other gold and silver star families that have gone before, and most of all to the veterans who have given so much for this country so that we have the freedoms that we enjoy today,” Hoover told the panel.
Staff Sgt. Hoover’s mother also testified on Tuesday, calling the Biden administration “incompetent, cowards, [and] evil.”
“I want justice. I want accountability,” she said.
They were also joined by several other gold star families of the 13 servicemen killed in the blast.
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Christy Shamblin, whose daughter-in-law, Sgt. Nicole Gee, was killed during Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal:
“To call it a ‘success’ is an ultimate disrespect for the very people who deserve every ounce of respect that we can give them.” pic.twitter.com/SBk3KHrbLh
— GOP (@GOP) August 7, 2023
Christy Shamblin, the mother-in-law of Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee said that the Biden administration’s decision to label the withdrawal a “success” is like a “knife in the heart.” Gee was 23 years old at the time of the attack. “We want to make sure that while we can’t bring our children back, the next ones will be treated with more respect. The respect that they earned by dying for our country,” Shamblin said.
“When our leaders – including Secretary of Defense and our commander in chief – called this evacuation a sucess, as if there should be celebration, it is like a knife in the heart for our families and for the people who came back. And for every service member who served over this 20-year war.” ~ Christy Shamblin
‘These deaths were preventable. My daughter could be with us today,” she added.
To date, no Biden administration official has taken responsibility for the disaster. White House spokesman John Kirby has said that while “not everything” about the withdrawal was “perfect,” there is a lot to be “proud of.”
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