EXCLUSIVE: ‘He knows their story’: Trump signs proclamation to honor 13 soldiers lost at Abbey Gate
“You could walk up to him and ask him about Taylor, Nicole, or Riley, or any of the 13, and he’ll know their story.”
Aug 26, 2025 minute read
President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Monday honoring the 13 US military members who died at Abbey Gate during the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan under the Biden administration. He signed the proclamation while surrounded by the Gold Star family members who lost their loved ones in the August 2021 suicide bombing attack in Afghanistan. Those families told The Post Millennial about what the honor meant to them.
Christy Shamblin, the mother-in-law to deceased Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, told TPM, “It was an honor to be in the Oval Office with our president. This administration and President Trump have delivered time and time again. The proclamation honors our HEROs and all the service members who keep our freedoms secure.”
The proclamation from the White House stated, ” I, Donald Trump, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim August 26, 2025, as a day in commemoration of the 4th anniversary of the attack at Abbey Gate. I encourage all Americans to remember the heroism of the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, and the Gold Star Families who carry on their proud legacy.”
The proclamation marks the first time the White House made an official proclamation to honor the soldiers on the anniversary of the tragedy. They were killed during the Biden administration’s withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in 2021 when a suicide bomber took advantage of the chaos and detonated himself.
Kelly Barnett, the mother of Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, told TPM, “We are so very grateful to have a President that cares about and acknowledges our loved ones that were taken from us. We are very enthusiastic about the promise to get us the accountability that we deserve, and we are gonna hold them to those promises!”
Hoover’s father, Darin Hoover, similarly expressed gratitude for the signing and proclamation ceremony on Monday, commenting that it was like a “culmination” of the action the president has taken to respect the fallen 13 soldiers.
“Trump has shown us time and time again just how much he cares, you know, on it, it’s, it’s gone on since the kids were killed, but yesterday was the, you know, kind of the culmination of that respect and that honor that has come from the White House,” Hoover commented, adding that the families “got nothing’ from the Biden administration, not even a phone call.
Hoover later added about Trump, “You could walk up to him and ask him about Taylor, Nicole, or Riley, or any of the 13, and he’ll know their story.”
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