Summary:
- Families of the 13 service members killed in the US evacuation of Afghanistan believe they are being lied to about their loved ones' deaths.
- Witnesses and family members challenge the official account of the Freedom 13's deaths, citing discrepancies and missing information.
- Allegations include wiped GoPro footage, missing SD cards, and contradictions in the cause of death reported by the US government.
- Families seek transparency and accountability, questioning both President Trump and Biden's role in the evacuation and the subsequent handling of information.
Families of the 13 service members killed in the US evacuation of Afghanistan say they are being lied to. Among other things, a father here tells Fox News that videos of their final days and moments have been wiped clean.
Lance Corporal Jared Smiths of St. Charles County is one of the 13 who was killed that day. It's been nearly two years now, and his father tells me he's still not sure what to believe about his death. There are so many missing pieces to this story. I still, to this day, don't have any answer whether or not my son dropped and felt no pain and just was killed instantly or if he was one of these others, I was told to my face he died on impact.
That's not true. The mother of one of those others says witnesses tell a much different story than the official account from the US government about the heroes now known as the Freedom 13. Said to have died in a suicide bombing on August 26th, 2021. It is like a knife in the heart. Family members testified at a public hearing near San Diego, hosted by Congressman Darrell Issa. Others have told us of things. Like a bullet found inside their loved one when, in fact, we were told it was a bomb.
A lot of guys had their GoPro cameras on their helmets. The SD cards have been taken and those that were returned were wiped. From my understanding, it's completely cleared out. Why would you do that? Schmitz has recently traveled to Washington with Freedom 13 families to meet with congressional leaders. He was not in California but maybe called to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The State Department report released in June placing blame on both President Trump and Biden for the budget evacuation is not enough. And then they turn around and spit in our face by blaming everything on Trump.
I mean, absolutely no accountability. Whatever they're doing, complete deflection to shade Biden from any of the other people, to shade Biden from any fault and wrongdoing. It's I don't see why this is a partisan issue. Whatever this is, our military? They protect all of us. Lance Corporal Jared Schmidt. Lance Corporal David Espinoza. The families say they won't stop until history reflects the entire story of the Freedom 13.
Andy Banker, Fox 2.