Outrage Ensues After Family of Marine Killed in Afghanistan Withdrawal is Forced to Pay to Transport Her Body

Red State ^ | 07/25/2023 | Bonchie

[BenLurkin]

[Right_Wing_Madman]

it’s easy to forget just how bad the withdrawal from Afghanistan was.

Biden's nightmare in Ukraine has eclipsed that disaster.

[kiryandil]

Ol’ Shizzpantz takes the Short Stairs to Short Bus One...

[Right_Wing_Madman]

The military covered the cost to bring Gee’s body to California for her funeral, but that was all the government was required to pay because of a more recent provision within the National Defense Authorization Act allowing the DoD to deny paying further transportation costs.

The family should have held the funeral at Arlington. It would have been a beautiful and honorable ceremony, and it would have saved them $60,000.

[leaning conservative]

Appalling.

[mass55th]

Biden to her parents: “That was 2 years ago, 3 years ago. Did you know my son Beau died in Iraq?

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

No one there would have known her but what the heck right?

This way she was honored by people who not only knew her but loved her.

They did the right thing.

The government, as per usual, did not.

[heartwood]

$60,000 to fly a body across country is plain price gouging by funeral directors and airlines.

And yes, the US owes this soldier and her family the cost of her last journey, but no one should be charged that much.

I think it’s mostly the airlines. When my daughter was stillborn, the funeral director found that the airlines were charging $3000 to fly a little tiny casket 700 miles, while we were driving to the family cemetery.

He ended up getting us the proper certificates to take her with us in the car.

[ETCM]

The DoD transported her remains to CA for her funeral in her home town. Transporting remains CA to VA via commercial air costs about $3,000, not $60,000. A private organization flew her remains via private jet at no cost to the family to Arlington, where she was interred free of charge with full military honors. Horse drawn caisson, Marine Band, gun salute. They got their “beautiful and honorable ceremony”, though I’m sure they would have preferred a beautiful and honorable withdrawal from Afghanistan.

[Karliner]

Never heard of such a thing. I’m not military but is this something that has happened in the past?

[Right_Wing_Madman]

They did the right thing. The government, as per usual, did not.

In this case, DoD actually followed the law. Contact your congressman to get the law changed.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

In this case, DoD actually followed the law.

Well no. The DoD HID behind the law. Read this statement closely.

The military covered the cost to bring Gee’s body to California for her funeral, but that was all the government was required to pay because of a more recent provision within the National Defense Authorization Act allowing the DoD to deny paying further transportation costs.

Allow. Not say they can not. Not say they will not but allow them to deny.

I stick by my statement. And my Congress Creeper would laugh his pasty white butt sick at the request. He needs that money to buy more votes.

[Az Joe]

There is always waiver provisions.

[metmom]

To be clear, I understand that the military can’t pay to cover the costs of burials for all servicemembers. If someone is retired and ultimately dies of old age or some other cause, that’s a different situation. Gee was killed in action, though. The idea that the military wouldn’t ensure her body was brought to Arlington is inexplicable.

The author misspelled *despicable*.

[metmom]

The family should have held the funeral at Arlington. It would have been a beautiful and honorable ceremony, and it would have saved them $60,000.

The government needs to do it's soldiers better than that. She was killed while assigned overseas for active duty.

With all the government gives away in freebies to illegals and the way it panders to criminals eyc, it's the least they can do for those who are defending this country.

[metmom]

There’s a world of difference between *right* and *legal*.

What they did may have been legal but it sure wasn’t right.

There’s nothing more callous than to dismiss wrong doing with a *but they followed the law*.

[Right_Wing_Madman]

There’s nothing more callous than to dismiss wrong doing with a *but they followed the law*.

Having worked with these types of cases in the past, I would have been very stupid to break the law and I recommend to others that they adhere to the law.

[higgmeister]

The family should have held the funeral at Arlington. It would have been a beautiful and honorable ceremony, and it would have saved them $60,000.

Retired military can fly Space Available anywhere an Aircraft is going to.   All they have to do is show up at an Air Force Base and sign-in at Base Operations, then sit and wait for a plane going where the retiree wants to go.   A few years ago my brother went from San Antonio to Germany and all he had to do was shell out money for food, then stayed at Space-A Lodging on base.

The Congressman is right.   It wouldn't have been a problem at all for the Air Force to carry the KIA Marine back to Arlington National.

[Skybird]

Meanwhile…

Retired Senator Harry Reid dies in Las Vegas from complications of cancer. His corpse gets flown round trip to Washington DC for a ceremonial tour with all of the pomp and circumstance, military escorts and bearers and then back to Nevada for interment.

Retired Senator Bob Dole dies in Washington DC. His corpse gets flown round trip to Kansas for a ceremonial tour with all of the pomp and circumstance, military escorts and bearers and then back to Washington DC for more ceremony and interment at Arlington National Cemetery.

Both very expensive trips to the taxpayers to parade the deceased across the country…