Darin Hoover, whose son, U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, was one of the 13 service members killed in a suicide bombing during the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, told Newsmax on Friday that he hopes an investigation ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will find former President Joe Biden and others in his administration responsible.
"There's a whole lot that I hope for," Hoover told Newsmax's "Wake Up America," adding that he hopes Gens. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. and Austin S. Miller, then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and Biden are "all found culpable in this."
The Gold Star father also said he hopes that the investigation will result in a "reset" of the military's rules of engagement, going back to the days when the soldiers on the ground who see "exactly what happens" are backed.
"Sometimes that stuff isn't run up the flagpole to the men in suits, and it's a sad day when that happens," said Hoover. "Unfortunately, we lost 13 beautiful souls that day because of it."
Meanwhile, Hoover said that nobody from the Biden administration has ever reached out to any of the lost service members' families, beyond sending them a "canned letter."
"It basically looked like a photocopied piece of paper, but that's been it," he said. "Nobody from the administration, not a single one, has reached out to any of us."
Meanwhile, Hoover said that with it being Memorial Day weekend, he wants to ask people to remember the sacrifices of military members who have been lost.
"Memorial Day has always been, you know, for many families, including mine, up until about 15 years ago, when Taylor decided to join the Marine Corps, is the first unofficial kickoff of summer," he said. "You know, everybody gets together, they go camping, they go be together. They have these big lunches, these big parties. Everybody's got a three-day weekend."
But now, Hoover said the only thing he asks is that people "remember what this day is for and how we got it, and that is by the men and women of the military that gave their last full measure."
He remembered his late son as the "consummate gentleman."
"He was always the jokester," said Hoover. "No matter where we went, he would light up a room, and everybody would flock to him. He just had that personality about him. And, you know, his leadership qualities were such that everybody wanted to be around him and wanted to do things for him."
He added that his son, while in Afghanistan during the evacuation proceedings, felt like he was seeing his mother's and sisters' "mirror image" among the horrific conditions in the crowds of civilians.
"He told them on several occasions, 'Look, I have to be out here,'" Hoover said. "'I look at these women and children as my mom and my sisters.' So, they worked tirelessly, tirelessly at that gate. And, you know, unfortunately, this year, as in past years, means just a little bit more about what our men and women do for us in the military."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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