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Gold Star Families Recite Names of 13 Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan Withdrawal in Powerful Convention Moment
The families of 13 U.S. Marines killed during the Afghanistan withdrawal three years ago read the names of each deceased soldier during the Republican National Convention Wednesday night, an emotional moment for the families and a reminder of a turning point in President Joe Biden’s first term.
The gold star families took the stage with pictures of their fallen children and chants of “USA!” from the crowd, setting the stage for one of the convention’s most powerful scenes.
A few family members took the stage and described how Biden turned their back on the fallen after they were killed by a suicide bomber at Abbey Gate of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in August 2021. In contrast, the gold star families recalled how Trump spent time with them and cared about their children.
“While Joe Biden has refused to recognize their sacrifice, Donald Trump spent six hours in Bedminster with us,” said the mother-in-law of fallen Marine Nicole Gee. “He allowed us to grieve, he allowed us to remember our heroes. Donald Trump knew all of our children’s names, he knew their stories, and he spoke to us in a way that made us feel understood, like he knew our kids” she added, holding back tears.
Alicia and Herman Lopez, the parents of Corporal Hunter Lopez, called out Biden for refusing to say their son’s name and pointed out Biden’s false claim during the presidential debate that no U.S. soldiers have died under his watch.
“In the nearly three years since Hunter’s been gone, there has been silence. Silence from that empty space at the dinner table,” said an emotional Alicia Lopez. “And there has been a deafening silence from the Biden and Harris administration.”
“When Hunter and the other service members’s bodies were returned to the U.S. in Dover, Delaware, Joe Biden met the plane. But he made the occasion more about his son, lost to cancer, than our sons and daughters, lost on his watch,” said an emotional Herman Lopez.
“Worse than that, he’s never said their names out loud, and during last month’s debate, he claimed no service members have died during his administration. None. That hurt us all deeply,” he continued.
Herman Lopez proceeded to read the names of each service member who died at Abbey Gate. When he read each name, the crowd repeated the name of the fallen service member, ending with Hunter Lopez, to a rousing ovation from the crowd.
“Never Forget!” and “Joe must go!” chants broke out, and Herman Lopez said “Joe Biden has to go” for failing the American people. He touted Trump’s record and said Trump showed compassion during meetings with the gold star families.
“We do not trust Joe Biden’s with his life,” a teary-eyed Alicia Lopez said of her other son who continues to serve in the armed forces.
Trump appeared to be moved by the gold star families as he watched on from his box at the convention days after he was nearly killed by would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks’s gunfire during a campaign rally.