Category: Service Members

Auto Added by WPeMatico

Posted on

Biden pays respects to the 13 fallen US service members killed in Afghanistan at Dover Air Force Base

us service members carry a us flag-laden casket as joe Biden jill biden and others look on
President Joe Biden, First lady Jill Biden, and other officials attend the dignified transfer of the remains of a fallen service member at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on August, 29, 2021.

SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

  • President Biden on Sunday went to Dover to pay tribute to the service members killed in Afghanistan.
  • The service members who died were assisting in the evacuation efforts at the Kabul airport.
  • In a statement, Biden lauded the “bravery and selflessness” of the fallen in their service.
  • See more stories on Insider’s business page.

President Joe Biden on Sunday met privately with the families of the 13 US service members who were killed in the suicide bombing near the Kabul airport and received the bodies of the fallen officers who died in Afghanistan.

First lady Jill Biden joined the president at Dover Air Base to participate in the “dignified transfer” of remains, a solemn process where the remains of service members killed in foreign combat are transported from an aircraft to an awaiting vehicle.

The fallen officers ranged in age from 20 to 31, and included a Marine from Wyoming who was expecting his first child in just a few weeks and another Marine from California who raved about her job and was photographed holding an Afghan child just a few days ago.

Five of the fallen service members were only 20 years old, having been born shortly before the September 11, 2001 attacks that drove the US to invade Afghanistan to destroy al-Qaeda and bring down the Taliban.

The service members were in the country to aid in the evacuation efforts, as Biden has sought to end a war that has been waged under four US presidents, including himself.

“The 13 service members that we lost were heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of our highest American ideals and while saving the lives of others,” Biden said in a statement released on Saturday. “Their bravery and selflessness has enabled more than 117,000 people at risk to reach safety thus far.”

Biden Dover Afghanistan
President Joe Biden and other officials attend the dignified transfer of the remains of fallen service members at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on August, 29, 2021. Last week, 13 members of the US military were killed in Afghanistan.

SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

The fallen service members returning to Dover were:

  • Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts
  • Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Sacramento, California
  • Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, California
  • Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page, 23, of Omaha, Nebraska
  • Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Indiana
  • Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas
  • Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, 20, of St. Charles, Missouri
  • Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyoming
  • Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, California
  • Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, of Norco, California
  • Navy Hospitalman Maxton W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio
  • Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tennessee

Family members of fallen officers often come to Dover to witness the return of their loved ones as they come back to the country they fought so valiantly to protect.

Also at the ceremony were a large group of US officials, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, US Marine Corps commandant Gen. David Berger, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Posted on

Biden honors fallen service members, defends ‘right to vote freely and fairly’ in Memorial Day speech

Joe Biden
President Joe Biden.

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

  • President Biden honored fallen soldiers at a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
  • Biden addressed the families, hoping to offer them support as they remembered their loved ones.
  • “I know the incredible pride you felt seeing your loved one wear the uniform of our country,” he said.
  • See more stories on Insider’s business page.

President Joe Biden on Memorial Day honored the fallen service members who sacrificed their lives for the US during a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, speaking of the difficulties of overcoming loss and emphasizing the need for maintaining democratic values.

While speaking to military families about grief, Biden spoke of his son Beau, an Iraq War veteran who passed away from brain cancer in 2015.

Biden reassured the audience that he and first lady Jill Biden understand many of their challenges.

“To those who mourn a loved one today, Jill and I have some idea how you are feeling,” he said. “Our losses are not the same, but that black hole you feel in your chest, like it is going to suck you in, we get.”

“I know the incredible pride you felt seeing your loved one wear the uniform of our country and the pride they felt wearing it,” the president continued.

He added: “Yesterday marked the anniversary of his [Beau’s] death and it’s a hard time for me and my family just like it is for so many of you. It can hurt to remember, but the hurt is how we feel and how we heal. I always feel Beau close to me on Memorial Day. I always know where I need to be, right here honoring our fallen heroes.”

The president emphasized that US troops around the world have fought for – and continue to fight for – democracy.

Read more: What we learned about Joe Biden from riding Amtrak with a Senate colleague who has known the president for five decades

“Democracy must be defended at all costs for democracy makes all this possible,” he said. “Democracy. That’s the soul of America. And I believe it’s a soul worth fighting for. And so do you, a soul worth dying for.”

Biden emphasized the importance of protecting democratic norms.

“Our troops have fought this battle on fields around the world but also a battle of our time, and the mission for each of us, each and every day,” he said. “Democracy itself is imperiled here at home and around the world.”

Biden then touched on voting rights, an issue that he has vocally championed as Republican-led legislatures across the country have sought to pass numerous election-related bills this year.

The president has criticized the new election law in Georgia and the restrictive voting bill under consideration in Texas, calling on Congress to pass the For the People Act, the sweeping voting rights legislation.

“Democracy thrives, and the infrastructure of democracy is strong, when people have the right to vote freely and fairly and conveniently,” he said. “This Memorial Day, remember that not all of us are called to make the ultimate sacrifice. We all are called by God and by history and by conscience to make our nation free and fair.”

After concluding his speech, Biden and the first lady were in the process of leaving Arlington Cemetery in the presidential motorcade but made an unscheduled stop to meet with several families who came to pay their respects to fallen soldiers, according to ABC News.

Read the original article on Business Insider