Few would deny the raw emotion and powerful impact of Gold Star families who appeared at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday.
Staunch leftists found a way to disparage the 20-minute presentation honoring the memories of U.S. service members killed during the 2021 ISIS-K attack on the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. And MSNBC couldn’t even bother to air a portion of it.
But those who watched were moved, some beyond words. ABC News correspondent Terry Moran summed it up as something he has never experienced.
“David, I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced anything like that at a convention,” he said Wednesday following the appearance of the families of fallen service members.
“Look at our faces. Look at our pain and our heartbreak. And look at our rage. [The Afghanistan withdrawal] was not an extraordinary success,” Cheryl Juels, the aunt of Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee said on the stage. “Joe Biden owes the men and women who served in Afghanistan a debt of gratitude, and an apology.”
Moran noted the “connection” between the families and the RNC audience which included former President Donald Trump.
“The connection between this crowd and those family members of the fallen was just absolutely extraordinary. The emotions, the call and response that the crowd started spontaneously, ‘never forget’, reciting and repeating the names as they were read out,” Moran noted, referring to the end of the presentation.
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Herman and Alicia Lopez, who lost their son, Marine Corporal Hunter Lopez, spoke out the names of the fallen and the crowd joined in, repeating the names aloud after each was announced.
Those fallen: Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza. Sgt. Nicole Gee. Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover. Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss. Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum. Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola. Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui. Cpl. Daegan W. Page. Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo. Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez. Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz. Navy Hospitalman Maxton W. Soviak. Cpl. Hunter Lopez.
(Video Credit: ABC News)
“And it wasn’t just the compassion and the sorrow that linked the crowd and those speakers. It was the anger,” Moran said.
“I’ve been out here this afternoon talking to veterans — Vietnam-era veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans — about the campaign in general, and without being prompted, they bring up Afghanistan,” he recounted, “and the sense of shame and anger that they felt for the country and — and in this campaign.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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