A Gold Star mother tearfully addressed members of Congress on Monday, alleging that the Biden administration provided false information about her Marine son's death in Afghanistan in August 2021. Kelly Barnett, whose son Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover was among the 13 U.S. servicemembers killed by a suicide bomber in Kabul during the military's evacuation two years ago, spoke at a Congressional forum organized by Rep. Darrell Issa of California. This marked the first occasion where relatives of all 13 fallen troops came together to publicly share their stories.

With determination, Barnett expressed, "I'm choosing to be strong and tell you about my child. He was an extraordinary young man. And I want you to understand that we're not victims. We're the parents of some incredibly brave heroes. I want that to be known."

She recounted that her son had reservations about the controversial withdrawal from the moment he arrived in Afghanistan for his final deployment. According to her, he witnessed "disorder, lack of communication, and absence of effective leadership."

Barnett's voice quivered with emotion as she revealed that her son was instructed to "clean up the airport" because it shouldn't be left untidy for the Taliban.

She questioned the disrespect shown and the evident disregard for the military, while also expressing her own emotions: "What kind of disrespect is this? What kind of animosity toward our armed forces? What kind of chaos? Confusion. Dishonesty. Abandonment. Anguish. Sorrow. Heartbreak and revulsion. These are the sentiments that our servicemembers felt, and are still grappling with. These are the emotions I'm grappling with," she sobbed.