With all that’s happened, much of it negative, during the Biden administration, it’s easy to forget just how bad the withdrawal from Afghanistan was. With time, things fade, but the disaster that unfolded remains one of the lowest points in American history. That it was completely preventable, caused by one arrogant, egotistical man only makes the situation more tragic.
As American troops oversaw the emergency evacuation of remaining US personnel, which was only necessary because of the total collapse of the Afghan military, suicide bombers targeted one of the entry gates to Kabul’s main airport. The results were horrific, with hundreds dying, including 13 American servicemembers.
One of the deceased was Sgt. Nicole L. Gee of the US Marine Corps. She had famously been photographed rescuing a young infant in the preceding days before the deadly attack that took her life. Unfortunately, her own government abandoned her after her passing.
According to a new report, sourced by US Army veteran and current Rep. Cory Mills, Gee’s family was forced to pay $60,000 to transport her body to Arlington National Cemetary after ceremonies were held in her hometown of Roseville, CA.
Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., who is an Army veteran, told Fox News Digital that during a meeting with the families of the “Fallen 13” last week, he was “enraged to learn that the Department of Defense had placed a heavy financial burden” on the family of Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, who were forced to find funding in the thousands to move her body to its final resting place after her 2021 death in Afghanistan.
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Gee’s remains were initially flown to her hometown of Roseville, California, for a ceremony, but the responsibility for transporting Gee to her final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery would fall on the family. Honoring Our Fallen, a nonprofit dedicated to assisting the families of fallen American service members, stepped up to help the family move Gee via private jet to Virginia.
The military covered the cost to bring Gee’s body to California for her funeral, but that was all the government was required to pay because of a more recent provision within the National Defense Authorization Act. That left Gee’s family scrambling to find money to get their loved one to her final resting place in Arlington National Cemetary.
I understand that the military can’t be on the hook to cover all the costs of all burials of servicemembers. If someone is retired and ultimately dies of old age or some other cause, that’s a different situation. Gee was killed in action, though. The idea that the military wouldn’t ensure her body was brought to Arlington is inexplicable.
In comparison, the military is more than happy to pay for transgender surgeries and ongoing “care” that costs well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The military is also happy to pay the costs for servicemembers to obtain out-of-state abortions. If you die on the battlefield, though, and your family wants to hold a hometown funeral first, then you are out of luck.
In the United States, Gee’s family has to crowdsource $60,000 to get fly her to the cemetery, but Hunter Biden flies for free on Air Force One. If that’s not a screwed-up dynamic, I don’t know what is.
Military cargo planes are always doing training missions because pilots are required to fly a certain amount of hours to keep current. You’re telling me no branch of the services could arrange to pick up Gee’s body as part of an already planned flight? This is embarrassing for our nation. Taxpayers are forced to pay for mentally ill men to have their genitals mutilated while real heroes are abandoned and forgotten. What kind of country does that?