Best of Hannity: Tragedy in Afghanistan - September 3rd, Hour 1
Mark Schmitz and Darin Hoover are Gold Star Dads following the attacks in Kabul. Darin Hoover lost his son Marine Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, who was only 11 years old when the WTC towers were attacked in 2001. Even at that young age he wanted to serve his nation seeing the horrors of that day. Mark Schmitz lost his 20-year-old son, Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz and described a very tense and negative experience with Biden in Dover yesterday. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
All right, news Roundup Information Overload Hour 800 941 Sean.
You want to be a part of the program.
Untold hundreds of Americans now basically their lives are in the hands of radical terrorists, you know, and the whims of these terrorists and what I think could possibly happen.
I don't even want to express publicly.
This is a very smart audience.
We all know what the possibilities are.
The idea that we'd ever leave an American behind goes against every single solitary fiber in my being.
Joe Biden said what we'd leave nobody behind.
One of the saddest things in all of this to me, well, whenever there's a loss of life, it's sad, right?
We we value life.
We're pro-life.
We know life is a gift.
We know I believe in natural law.
Our rights, our life comes from a God, a creator, a father, and we're endowed by that creator.
And as part of this, the idea that we didn't we saw the Taliban on the march as early as March.
And we saw them on the March in April.
And we saw vast portions of the country, province after province, literally basically being not defended by the great Afghan army that Joe was bragged bragging about in mid-July.
Um and then we saw May, June, July, even.
And we waited for the Taliban to take over Kabul.
And we Joe Biden brag, well, we have control of the airport.
The Washington Post says there's a report out now that actually the Taliban offered us to have Kabul to get all the people out, and and he said no.
Then they formed the perimeter.
If you can't, if you don't control the perimeter to the airport, and you don't control the city around the airport, how are you supposed to get your people home?
And now every diplomatic and and every diplomat, every military person is now left Afghanistan.
And we have Americans now caught behind enemy lines.
In the lead up to this, we had this terror attack that took place last week.
And you know, we lost 13 of our bravest.
I call the kids, they're kids to me.
I mean, that's our national treasure.
I have kids, the my kids are out of their teenage years now.
One of them is uh Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz.
He's 20 years old, was one of 13 Marines killed at the Karzai International Airport last week.
And what was fascinating about his story is father's gonna join us in a minute.
He had been part of a group of Marines that was sent back to Afghanistan for the specific reason to assist with the evacuation efforts.
His father, Mark, joins us now, and also joining us is Darren Hoover.
His 31-year-old son, Marine Corps Staff Sergeant, Darren Taylor Hoover, who is the oldest U.S. service member killed on the 26th of August.
This is just last week, was serving his third tour of duty in Afghanistan at the time of his death.
And by the way, his father said no parents should have to bury their their sons or daughters.
It's not supposed to work that way.
He was scheduled, by the way, to retire when he got home and marry his fiance, who's also devastated.
Anyway, Mark Schmitz and Darren Hoover, thank you both for being with us.
Thank you.
Thank you, sir.
Mark, let I I uh rather than ask any political questions right now, let me let's talk about your son.
One thing that caught my attention is he was sent back for these for this very reason to assist with the evacuation.
This is something you you said that he always wanted to do, and I've never seen a young man train as hard as he did to be the best soldier he could be.
Tell us about your son who lost his life.
Uh he had decided uh firmly sophomore year or so that he was going to enter the Marine Corps and uh began training uh doing this this this kid didn't go to the library, he didn't do research, he didn't like school, you know.
But he jumped.
By the way, a kid after my own heart, but go ahead.
He uh he started googling, you know, what the workout regiment was for Marine Corps, what basic uh physical uh conditioning needs to be to get through boot camp alive and you know conquer the crucible, etc.
And he just started training like crazy.
Um he was the type that didn't uh have a driver's license right away when he was sixteen, so I would have to drive him up to the uh local marine office and he started training with them before he was even a recruit, just learning everything that they do.
He just really wanted to excel and you know, he ended he right out of high school, joined the Marines, went off the boot, graduated.
That was uh an honor to be able to witness that in October of nineteen.
Um he finally got his first deployment to Jordan and uh shortly thereafter, obviously that was a lot of training, but shortly after that he got the call up to go to uh to Kapool.
Um obviously his mother and I were terrified.
Um he was excited.
He he was so focused on training and and doing what the Marines can do.
He wanted to make sure he honed in on his skills on that, but now he finally got the opportunity to put it into action.
And I had of course that dad and son talk about how serious this is, and he said, Don't worry, you know, we all got each other's backs here.
He said, Okay, you know, and he went there and finally got to do what he really wanted to do, which was make a difference and help people.
And uh the our Keiko officer Martinez was nice enough to share a quote with me from Ronald Reagan that really hit home.
He says m most people will spend a lifetime trying to make sure trying to find out if they made a difference in this world.
Marines don't have that problem.
My Marine did not have that problem.
Darren's Marine does not have that problem.
None of them do.
All these guys are heroes.
And they've all made a huge difference in this world.
They defend our liberties and freedom.
And let me let me just say on a personal level to both of you.
Um I'm so sorry.
I am so so very sorry.
There's no words that I can speak to you that can take away your pain.
I can't.
I wish I could.
I you know, as a parent, I could only imagine.
But if you're living it, I'm sure it's very different.
And I, you know, I've met many, many gold star families over the years, and I I I always wonder in my mind, how do you ever recover?
And I even ask people, how do you go get up every day?
And they just say that they would our kids would want us to.
And it's but it you but they acknowledge then their life changes forever.
Both of your lives last week changed forever.
And I know I speak for this large radio audience.
We're on like six hundred and sixty-five stations in Sirius XM.
And I'm just telling you, everybody's listening now to both of you, and they feel as I do.
They're sickened, saddened.
They know that I won't get too political here, but this was so preventable.
Darren, um, please tell I know your son is named after you, Darren Taylor Hoover, but he I understand he went by the name of Taylor, and you know, you're the one that said no parents should have to bury their sons and daughters.
That your son had the biggest heart in the world, and he was about to retire and marry his fiance, Nicole.
Yes, he was.
Yes, he was.
Um, you know, growing up he he had the biggest heart.
Uh very compassionate towards people, uh, very loving, very caring, very understanding.
He he had all of that beyond his years, uh, in my opinion.
Um after 9-11 happened, he was eleven years old uh at the time that happened.
And he said right then and there, I'm gonna do something about this dad.
You know, being eleven years old, I'm like, oh well, okay, all right, that's a good goal to shoot for.
Um and when he was also in high school, uh, the recruiter came to his high school.
And for whatever reason, uh he chose the Marine Corps.
Uh he did the exact same thing.
He started working out, he'd go to the recruiting office, and from there the the sergeant that was there would take him out training with a couple of other guys uh that were also interested in doing it.
Um he he went through boot camp and for for the people that don't get to see that, it is it is stunning.
It's brutal.
It well, the graduation is absolutely stunning.
That I believe.
So respectful, so uh uh timed down to the you know down to the minute detail.
Um it's just a really special time, and and thankfully we were able to see that.
And then he got to his unit and started training.
Um he had really good senior senior uh non-commissioned uh individuals helping him out, and uh wound up doing three tours uh in Afghanistan.
Um his first one was about a year in.
Well, it it's what he loved to do.
He loved this country.
He absolutely loved it.
And like I said, from the from the time nine time nine eleven happened, this is what he wanted to do, you know.
Uh and when I talk about compassion and love, he was he was he was a love of the family.
You know, he had his two sisters that actually absolutely loved him, as they should.
Um they looked up to him and they went to him for everything.
They called they called him Bubba.
Uh he'd get mad at him if he if they called him Taylor.
And you know, he's got several aunts and uncles on both sides, uh several cousins on both sides.
Um and he was the firstborn on both sides of the family as well.
But when he'd get with his cousins and aunts and uncles, it was it was nothing but a fun fest.
Everybody would run to Taylor.
Everybody, as soon as he walked in the room, all the little kids were crowding him, you know, he'd pick him up, hug him, squeeze him, tickle them, just the whole thing.
Family met everything to Taylor.
And we were so happy when he found Nicole.
Um she's a she's a little spitfire, just like he was, but she kept him in check.
She's a little sweetheart, and we love her to death.
We absolutely love her to death.
Let me ask you both, and I'm just gonna leave it wide open.
Um Mark, I'll go back to you.
And and I want you to talk more about your son, Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz.
And you know, tell us more, give us more context, texture, maybe how you feel about the situation he was put in.
That's up to you.
I don't really want to drag you into my world.
I'd I'd more want to honor your sons than anything else.
I have two kids of my own.
Um Marcus is around the same age.
My daughter was born 13 days before 911.
And um she's now 20.
And the same age as your son.
Um you never stopped worrying about your kids.
I'm sure every day your sons are in a war zone, you're really worrying about him, probably not sleeping at all.
Yes, uh uh he he was about six months old, just a little over six months old when when 9-11 hit and uh uh his mother told me that he started talking about joining the Marines at the in third grade, I believe it was, uh you know, which is obviously just too young for that, but he stuck with that and um made sure that it it came true for him.
Um he had uh he was uh extremely lovable um brother to two two two sisters, um half brother on my side, half brother on his mom's side, and a stepbrother on my side as well.
So he's he's from a big family, and every single person just looked up to him.
They knew that he was uh selfless.
Uh that is probably the best word I have to describe him.
He would do anything for anyone for any reason.
Um great friends of so many.
I don't know.
We found that out now.
I I knew everybody loved him, but with grief.
I mean, just the outpouring has been tremendous, and people coming out of the woodwork that have told me stories of how Jared had changed them personally, you know, it just melts my heart.
Um his mom is uh obviously struggling with this as we all are.
But um we're looking forward to having him home and um you know it just tears me up the most that there's a young man that's 20 years old and can't legally even drink.
We all know he already did.
Um you know, he he didn't have a chance to get married.
He didn't have a chance to uh join the family business, which was recently discussed with him that he said after the core he was considering coming to work with me and you know, I would have been extremely honored to have him on board and uh he and I were actually talking about him buying a car when he got back and when he got out of the corps finding an apartment, you know, and just getting his life started.
And uh I was trying to f find some information from him that he gave me months ago.
So I had to go through the text messages from with him uh this morning and it was extremely difficult, but uh just looking back and seeing all the things that he was talking about that he was wanting to do after uh after he was done in the corps and uh to know that none of these things are gonna happen now, it's just that's that's the hardest part.
It's tearing me up that he was gonna stay with this uh Mark Schmidt, who lost his twenty year old son, Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz.
Uh Darren Hoover is with us.
His thirty-one year old Marine Corps staff sergeant's son, Darren Taylor Hoover, uh in this blast that took place last week, this terror attack.
We'll come back uh get some final thoughts from these gold star fathers on the other side, uh, and our prayers are with all of you and your family, and I know you both have some very tough days ahead.
And um we uh this audience cares.
I can tell you that.
I speak for everyone in this audience and these stories are heartbreaking.
800 nine four one Sean.
We'll get to your calls next half hour.
We have Hannity tonight at nine.
Quick break, right back.
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All right, 25 till the top of the hour.
Toll Free on numbers 800 941 Sean.
Uh final thoughts as we continue uh from our last half hour.
Mark Schmidt's he lost his 20-year-old son, Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz, one of the thirteen Marines killed at the bombing at Karz High International Airport in Kabul last week.
Uh Darren Hoover is with us.
He lost his thirty-one year old Marine Corps staff sergeant's son, Darren Taylor Hoover.
Um Darren, I'm uh I'll let you say anything you want to say about your son.
You you did meet Biden uh at Dover's and if you want to talk about it, fine.
If you don't, I don't care.
Um no, we didn't meet him.
Um we talked it over as a family and decided that we would we didn't want anything to do with him.
Um we felt like that's what Taylor would have wanted us to do.
Yeah, don't get me wrong, Taylor was over there, he was doing his job, he was leading his Marines.
And going from and we've heard this from uh a bunch of his friends, uh through different channels or a bunch of his his men through different channels through friends and through families that he was going around to each of his Marines that were in that fire fight prior to the uh uh the suicide bomber,
going around to each of his Marines, keeping them on track on target of the fire fight, making sure they all had the ammunition that they needed, making sure They were staying focused, staying in the fight.
That's who he is.
A natural born leader.
From his early years up through the Marine Corps.
He's always been that from his football team through high school or junior high actually, elementary school, middle school, and high school.
He was one of the leaders on the field.
Like I said before, he's very loving, very caring.
But it went when it came to doing the job that he needed to do, he got right down to the brass tax and helped build up the Marines that he was in charge of.
There was one particular Marine, and forgive me, I can't remember his name, but when this younger Marine came into Taylor's unit when he was a sergeant, he said that at first Taylor scared the living crap out of him because he'd just stare you down and keep staring at you until it made it very uncomfortable.
And if he was really mad, that's when he started yelling.
But it's just his demeanor, very calm, under pressure, and wanted to build those Marines up to what they were expected to do.
And he was given a lot of training.
He was given a lot of opportunities to train those Marines.
And you know what?
Like I said, that's that's what he enjoyed.
That's what he loved.
It was his passion.
It was his absolute passion to be the best Marine that he could be.
And I think he did that.
He wound up giving the ultimate sacrifice that a service member can give.
And being a Marine, I don't think as we've talked about it as a family, we don't think it's it's tough to say, but we don't think he would have wanted to go out any other way.
If he had to do it, he would go out the way he did with his fellow Marines, um, both men and women, right by his side, fighting to the very end to protect those people, which is honorable in and of itself, but to do it in the manner in which he did it and ultimately give up his life in order to fulfill that duty.
Unfortunately, that's the way it turned out.
Um right now we can't none of us can quantify how many potential lives they saved that day or the following days right after that.
Um but just like Mr. Schmidt said, they're all heroes, every last one of them.
To be disrespected like they were at Dover when they were coming off the plane with Mr. Biden looking at his watch each time the each time the salute was released, and the Marines would go back up, pick up another box and bring it down, was disrespectful as anything I've ever seen.
And I I we're struggling with that.
We're really struggling with that one.
But like you said, it it's all about the boys and the girls.
Um they're heroes.
We want to keep them in the forefront, never to be forgotten.
And unfortunately, with war, we know this happens, but you're right, this one was preventable.
Mark.
I agree.
I mean, I don't think there's an American downside that doesn't agree that we need to be out of this godforsaken country, but it it could have happened differently.
And uh, I think our boys and and girls would still be with us today if it hadn't been handled differently.
Mark, we talked so much about your son, and and it's such a a grave tragedy.
Uh what's happened to all of our Marines in Afghanistan and brave men and women.
One of the things I wanted to discuss with you is the president, his press conference yesterday, where he called this withdrawal from Afghanistan, quote, a success.
What are your thoughts?
Honestly, we've been uh we've been more concerned about uh dealing with our son Jared, and I didn't bother to even watch, so I have no comment.
No, I completely understand that.
If I may, I'd like to actually talk about a foundation that we've uh set up for him.
Yeah, we'd love to hear more about that.
Please tell us more about that cause.
We'll we'll even put it up on our website and social media at Hannity.com.
Well, thank you for that.
Um we have partnered with the St. Louis Hero Network.
Um they are responsible for raising money for backstoppers, etc.
And my family um uh we we we've been blessed financially, so we don't need any financial support for our own family.
So 100% of any proceeds raised for Jared's Foundation and Memorial uh fund will actually be applied to exactly that and other good causes.
Um we are planning on erecting a sculpture on his behalf, either just of him or of the thirteen that's yet to be determined.
Um we would love to set up a scholarship in his name that would be a recurring annual scholarship that we could award out to a student from the high school he attended.
We'll work those details out in time as well.
But there's other projects that we would love to uh since we've been receiving such a huge overwhelming support for all of this, uh, you know, contribute money to the uh wounded warriors project, stuff like that on an annual basis.
So we'll be doing fundraisers like this on an annual basis to raise money and awareness for the 13 fallen and contribute that money to uh a good cause.
Um the website that uh people can go to if they feel so uh blessed to do so would be STL Hero Network.com slash help dash a dash hero.
Mark, I just want to say we lost Jared on Friday.
I I can't imagine what you and your family are going through, as I said.
I just want you to know how incredible it is that you're already willing to give back, and we're gonna link the all of this to Hannity.com.
We'll continue to pray for your family.
We just ask that you keep us apprised of everything that's going on so we can help.
America can help, the audience can help.
Well we'll we want to do whatever we can to help you and your family.
I appreciate that, and we just want to make a legacy for him and and the people that have been reaching out and being so supportive, we're gonna help make that happen.
So from the bottom of our hearts, we're so very thankful.
Thank you, Mark.
We appreciate your time.
We'll be thinking about you and and your family.
You have a lot of tough days ahead, God bless you.
Thank you.
And Darren, you know we really haven't gotten political in this conversation, but I did want to get your thoughts on the presser from yesterday and and President Biden calling this withdrawal from Afghanistan an extraordinary success.
With the loss of your son, Marine Staff Sergeant Taylor Hoover, I don't think anyone can call this a success.
I wanted to get your take on this.
No, I absolutely not.
You know, it not only was it not the perfect takeout, it was anything but it was everything was backwards.
Um to say that that was a perfect deal.
No, how could it be perfect?
There's 13 lives lost.
There's 13 lives off.
One of one of them being my son.
But he stood his ground.
He did what he needed to do, what he was told to do, what he wanted to be there doing.
Like I said the other night, it it was his passion.
And he died with his brothers and sisters uh fighting for those people that couldn't fight for themselves.
But no, this is this was anything but perfect.
There's I don't in my opinion, and I know it's just my opinion, but this was anything but perfect.
This was a disaster, and it didn't need to happen.
Right.
I I think that's the point that all of us are feeling, and certainly we're grieving alongside of you, but can't imagine what you're going through.
And we just want you to know myself, my entire team here on radio and on TV, our audience, all of us are thinking about you, trying to honor Taylor's memory.
Is there anything that we can do?
Do you guys have a GoFundMe, a website?
Anything that we can put up on Hannity.com to keep the effort alive to keep Taylor's legacy alive.
Um actually, thank you for asking.
There is Marine buddies from his various uh uh units that he was in have started a GoFundMe page.
Um and there is also a help a hero uh that was started by the FOP, the fraternal order of police here in Utah.
Um there is a t-shirt company out of Utah as well, um, that does shirts and sweatshirts and and all kinds of stuff.
Um that's called SRVS Gear, it's service gear, and it's geared towards um first responders as well as military members.
It's just a way to give back to those those members that have given the ultimate sacrifice.
And then we were also contacted by uh Salty Turtle Beer Company, uh from down south.
Um, and they are making instead of twelve packs of beer, they're making thirteen packs of beer for the thirteen members that we lost, and down on the bottom of the can, it has instead of the expiration date, it has the name and uh the incident on the bottom of the can of each one of the members of the thirteen that's that were killed in this in this horrendous attack.
That's actually pretty incredible.
Look, we're gonna put all of that on my website, Hannity.com today, so everyone can go and support not just these GoFundMe's, but these companies that are reaching out, taking the time and honoring the fallen, and that's pretty incredible of them.
We'll let our audience know if there's anything we can do to help, please let us know.
And I just want to say thank you for being with us.
And I appreciate that very much.
Thank you.
Well, I I wish I had adequate words to communicate to both of you.
Um I hear the the pain in your hearts and your voice.
Um both of you described amazing young American heroes.
Your sons.
I know that you won't see them again.
I I I I do believe in in God.
I'm a Christian.
Um, and you know, that's no greater love if the Bible says than for one to lay down his his or her life for another.
Your two sons did that for this country and for all of us.
And many lives were saved because of it.
I'm so sorry about all the pain that you have endured and you will endure in the days, weeks, months, and frankly, probably years ahead.
And um, I want you to know that this audience cares.
And thank you for sharing the story about these amazing young men that you've raised.
Thank you.
Appreciate it very much, sir.
All right.
I'm gonna take a break, then we'll come back and get to the phones.
