Gold star family reacts to Afghanistan tragedy after losing son in combat

By JASON SILLMAN, KIM POWELL

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    MESA, AZ (KTVK) — More than three-quarters of a million American service members have been deployed to Afghanistan in two decades. Now, many wonder if their sacrifices were wasted.

It’s been so hard for everyone to watch what’s unfolding in Afghanistan. But for the Martin family who lives in Mesa, this stings because they lost their 22-year-old son fighting for this country.

Though the videos and images out of Kabul are happening nearly 8,000 miles away from Arizona, the pain hits closer to home than ever for Brian Martin. “No, we’re not happy. I mean, we gave a big sacrifice here and we want it to mean something,” Martin said.

The Martins lost their son Wyatt in December of 2014. He was a combat engineer on patrol when an IED killed him and his sergeant. “They were the last two official KIAs for Operation Enduring Freedom,” Martin said.

Now seeing absolute chaos as the Taliban has taken over again, Brian Martin can’t help but feel anger that Wyatt is gone and things feel like they’re going backward. “It feels like in waste some ways. Why didn’t we stay there? We had a commitment to do it right. I know Wyatt would have wanted us to stay there and do it correctly,” he said.

President Joe Biden addressed the nation Monday, admitting the Afghanistan government collapse happened more quickly than anticipated, but that he stands firmly behind his decision to withdraw U.S. troops.

Political consultant Stan Barnes said overall he feels Biden’s speech fell flat. “What the president did well was he was definitive on who is responsible. He said, ‘The buck stops with me. I’m the president of the United States,’ and I thought that was his best moment,” Barnes said. “Now, after that, I thought it was really bad. When he finished his speech and then turned around and walked off instead of taking one question, I think the symbolism of that is so bad.”

As heartbreak and tragedy continue, the Martins want people to know Wyatt died fighting for this country trying to make a difference and want those we lost not to die in vain. “We left literal blood over there,” Brian Martin said. Barnes also said many are comparing the images of the Kabul airport and planes to the aftermath of the Vietnam War.

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