Schmitz said initially he wasn’t going to meet with Biden, but then said he thought he owed it to his son to share what he thought with Biden. “It didn’t go well,” he sighed. He said Biden spoke more about his own son than about Jared and “that didn’t sit well with me.”

Taylor Hoover was set to return home on September 15, retire and marry his fiancé. “It’s the absolute worst feeling in the world,” his father said. “Every one of them is a hero, there’s no doubt…They died with their brothers and their sisters right next to them, doing exactly what they all wanted to do, and that is defending this country.” In regard to Biden, Hoover said his family didn’t want him anywhere near them. Hoover said that Biden checked his watch on “every single one of them that came out of that airplane.” “They would release the salute,” he said and then he would look down at his watch, “on every last one.” “Seeing that, and the disrespect. Hearing from his, uh, former leaders. One of his master sergeants said exactly what you just said…that this was avoidable, that they left them over there, they had them over there and let them down.” Hoover said, “This can’t happen, ever again.”