‘Incompetent, Cowards, Evil’: Gold Star Mother Breaks Down In Tears Describing Son’s Death In Afghanistan

A gold star mother broke down in tears while testifying Monday about her son’s death at the Kabul Airport attack in Afghanistan.

Kelly Barnett’s son, Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover, was among the 13 soldiers killed in the Kabul, Afghanistan, airport attack during the withdrawal of U.S. troops in August 2021. The gold star mother said she was given inaccurate information about her son’s death.

She said her son died believing the command did not care for him and the troops.

“I feel this as well. After seeing their friends die, picking them up off the ground, sending them off, them being told to destroy everything at that airport. They were told, ‘you gotta clean up the airport. We can’t leave it dirty for the Taliban, they got to clean up the airport,'” she said while breaking down into tears. “What kind of disrespect? What kind of hatred for our military? What kind of mess? Confusion, deceit, lost, angry, sad, heartbroken, and disgusted. These are the feelings that the service members felt and are still feeling.”

“These are the feelings I’m feeling, Taylor’s dad is feeling, his sisters, his family, his friends,” she continued.

Barnett said the families “were told lies, given incomplete reports” and “total disrespect.” She further noted she only learned of the true cause of her son’s death from witnesses after being told incorrect information to her face. (RELATED: ‘You Don’t Even Care’: Mother Of Slain Marine Blasts Biden For Not Mentioning 13 Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan)

“All I wanted to know — where my kid was, where he fell,” she said. “How long did he last, did he fight? I was told to my face he died on impact — that’s not true. The only reason I know this is because witnesses told me the truth. I was lied to and basically told to shut up, that that’s the way it was. Not true. He lived for a little while, but not on impact. He was given out his ammo, he tied a tourniquet around his leg. I don’t understand the reasoning for that lie, it makes no sense.”

She then called out President Joe Biden’s administration by name over their handling of the botched withdrawal.

“Biden, the Biden administration, Blinken, Milley, Austin … Unfortunately, there’s more. That’s just the ones that I’m focused on at this moment. Incompetent, cowards, evil. Some are a few of those, some are all of those. I want justice. I want accountability. Why would they just not say, ‘oh, we made a mistake. Our plan was wrong. I’m so sorry.’ You know, that would’ve been something.”