Relatives of some soldiers killed in the Iran war joined dozens of Gold Star families from prior U.S. conflicts Tuesday at the White House, where President Donald Trump offered words of comfort and candles were lit for the fallen service members, according to one of the widows who attended.
Not all families of the six soldiers killed March 1 in the deadliest attack of the Iran war opted to attend. Troops who survived the attack have raised questions
about why they were stationed at a site that didn’t have sufficient air protection and was viewed as a likely target.
Michelle Tietjens and other relatives have said they are angry the Army still hasn’t answered questions over whether enough was done to protect their loved ones. But Tietjens and her teenage son traveled from Bellevue, Nebraska, to attend the event to honor her husband, Master Sgt. Noah Tietjens, who was killed along with five other Army Reserve soldiers by an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait.
“I decided to go originally because my son wanted to go,” Tietjens said. “But then I wanted to see what it was about as well. I wanted to also go to support my husband's memory.”
She said they toured several rooms of the White House and took a photo with Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump. Tietjens said the president told them that he wished he had her teenage son's full head of curly hair.
Tietjens said the reception “didn’t change my feelings on them giving me answers,” and added that she spoke with someone at the White House who offered to try to help.
The annual gathering honors Gold Star Mother’s and Family’s Day, which falls on the last weekend of September. The White House said this year’s reception honored nearly 40 fallen service members from conflicts dating to the Vietnam War.
The Iran war, launched Feb. 28, has claimed the lives of 19 U.S. troops and wounded more than 800 others.
Tietjens said she also saw at the reception family members of Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien, who was also killed at Port Shuaiba, and of Pfc. Isabella Gonzalez, who was killed July 17 in an Iranian attack at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.
Gold Star families have expressed frustration over the lack of information from the Pentagon about the strike in Kuwait.
“There are questions about what happened before the attack, what information was available, what decisions were made, and what happened in the moments leading up to six American soldiers losing their lives,” Joey Amor — whose 39-year-old wife, Master Sgt. Nicole M. Amor, was among those killed — said in a public Facebook statement Monday. “I am done asking quietly. Today, I am asking the American people to stand with these six families and demand transparency.”
U.S. soldiers wounded in the attack told The Associated Press of the unheeded concerns they raised about the threat and said the military medical system failed them in the weeks that followed. The AP’s account of the March 1 attack is based on interviews with 13 soldiers.
The Army declined to comment on the AP’s reporting on the Port Shuaiba strike, saying it had not yet briefed the families of those killed on the outcome of its investigation into the attack, which was completed in June. The Army has said it is still redacting sensitive information before releasing the findings. The Pentagon also declined to comment.
Honoring soldiers who died in combat can be a powerful recognition of their service that cuts across politics, said John Thompson, a former Army sergeant and founder of Salute to the Fallen, an Iowa organization that supports veteran mental health, suicide prevention and funeral expenses.
He said several families told him they could not go because they did not receive enough notice about the event.
The White House began sending out invitations to Gold Star families — the military’s designation for relatives of troops killed while on active duty — about two weeks ago, according to several families who said they received phone calls and emailed invitations.
“What they’ve told me is there has been a lot of confusion around this event, and they weren’t given the details in time,” Thompson said, adding that some were also not in a position to pay for the trip.
At least two said they did not receive an invite, though there can be hurdles to tracking down families' personal information.
Some Gold Star families say they are grateful for how the Trump administration and military have honored their loved one’s sacrifice. Other families say the way the White House has handled the reception is the latest indication that the administration does not respect the price they have paid.
In the early days of the war, Trump described it as a “little excursion." On Sept. 4, he called the conflict “small potatoes.”
The widow of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, who died in the March 1 attack, said she and her two children were not invited.
Tina Marzan said that in the immediate aftermath of her husband’s death, she told federal officials she did not want to be contacted after receiving multiple calls. But she had hoped they would have tried to reach her or others in her family for an event like this, she said.
“We should be there,” Tina Marzan told the AP. “I mean, that’s not a question.”
The White House said it honors people's requests not to be contacted.
Donna Burhans, the mother of Maj. Cody Khork, who was one of those killed at Port Shuaiba, said she did not receive an invitation but would not have attended because it's too painful. She has described herself as a “big fan” of Trump after meeting him during the dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base.
“I just can’t keep going thru (sic) this over and over,” she told the AP in a text message.
The White House said it attempted to send invitations to Khork's family members.
The spouse of Maj. Alex Klinner, an airman who was killed in an Iran-related combat operation this summer, said receiving less than two weeks’ notice did not give her enough time to arrange for overnight care for her three young children.
In a text message, Libby Klinner said she would not have gone anyway, adding, “I have no interest in supporting an administration that has been so reckless with the lives of our service members."
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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia, and Brook reported from New Orleans. Associated Press writers Julie Watson in San Diego, Allen G. Breed in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and Collin Binkley in Washington contributed to this report.
