Gold Star father Mark Schmitz told Newsmax on Tuesday that Monday’s White House ceremony honoring the 13 U.S. service members killed in the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan finally gave grieving families the dignity and recognition they had been waiting for.
Schmitz, whose son, Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, was among those killed, told “Greg Kelly Reports” that being invited into the Oval Office by President Donald Trump on the fourth anniversary of the attack was “heartfelt” and “long overdue.”
“It was three years in the making. We never got an invite like that in the previous administration,” Schmitz said. “We all walked in there, and it was like a weight lifted off your shoulders when you walk into that room, and you know why you’re there, and you’ve been waiting for this for so long. … It was a tremendous, tremendous feeling to walk in there and meet with him again. But to be in the Oval Office just was a little more special.”
Jared Schmitz, who grew up in Missouri, had dreamed of becoming a Marine from the age of 8.
“I blame that on ‘Call of Duty’ that all the kids played growing up,” his father recalled with a laugh. “By the time he was a sophomore, he was laser focused. He trained every single weekend at our local recruiting office before he even enlisted.”
That drive never wavered.
“When he went off to [Camp] Pendleton, we knew he was doing what he was called to do,” Schmitz said.
The Aug. 26, 2021, Abbey Gate bombing at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 170 Afghans during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal. For Schmitz, the loss has been compounded by what he views as former President Joe Biden’s indifference.
“I’ve talked to a lot of Democrats since this happened who defend Biden. … This happened eight months into his presidency. He gets our sons and daughters killed. Three years goes by, he hasn’t even uttered their names in public. How could you possibly defend that?” Schmitz said.
He stressed that Gold Star families never sought politics — only respect.
“This is most certainly not a political thing. It shouldn’t be. But for some reason it’s become that. And it’s disgusting. I mean, from a parent’s perspective, all we wanted was some respect,” he said.
On Monday, Trump signed a proclamation at the White House honoring the 13 fallen heroes, pledging that their sacrifice “will never be forgotten.”
For Schmitz, the moment was a measure of long-overdue recognition: “This is just one piece of the whole big picture for us — but it meant the world.”
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