On Aug. 26, suicide bombers affiliated with the group ISIS-K attacked crowds of people attempting to flee Afghanistan at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. Thirteen U.S. troops and dozens of Afghan civilians were killed in the suicide bombing, according to Afghan and U.S. military officials.
A dignified transfer of the 13 U.S. troops’ remains was held at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Aug. 29. Hours before the remains arrived at the air force base, conservative commentators, like Blair Brandt and Jack Posobiec, claimed no one from the White House attended the return of the service members’ remains and suggested the president did not plan to attend the solemn ritual. VERIFY viewer Brenda wants to know if anyone from the Biden administration made it to the air force base to pay their respects.
THE QUESTION
Did President Joe Biden attend the dignified transfer of 13 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan at Dover Air Force Base?
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
Yes, President Biden attended the dignified transfer of 13 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan at Dover Air Force Base on Aug. 29, 2021.
WHAT WE FOUND
President Biden did attend the dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base on Aug. 29. He and First Lady Jill Biden were captured in several photos shared on the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations (AFMAO) website on that date.
Another photo shared on the president’s official Twitter account on Aug. 29 also shows Biden, along with several others, standing in the background as the troops’ remains are removed from the aircraft at the base and transferred to awaiting vehicles.
“The 13 service members that we lost were heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of our highest American ideals and while saving the lives of others. Our sacred obligation to the families of these heroes will last forever,” the caption reads.
C-SPAN also shared a video of Biden at the base during the dignified transfer that is dated Aug. 29.
According to the Associated Press, Biden and the first lady met privately with family members of the fallen troops prior to participating in the dignified transfer.
AFMAO says a “dignified transfer” of remains is conducted upon arrival at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Del. “to honor those who have given their lives in the service of our country.”
“The dignified transfer is not a ceremony; rather, it is a solemn movement of the transfer case by a carry team composed of military personnel from the fallen member's respective service,” said AFMAO. “A dignified transfer is conducted for every U.S. military member who dies in the theater of operation while in the service of their country. A senior ranking officer of the fallen member's service presides over each dignified transfer. “
Many of the commentators who claimed Biden did not plan to attend the dignified transfer either deleted their tweets or issued corrections hours later.
More from VERIFY: No, this graphic does not show the 13 service members killed in Afghanistan. It’s actually from 2017
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