Left to right: Maj. John A. Klinner, 33, of Auburn, Alabama, Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio, Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Kentucky, Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, of Mooresville, Indiana, Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30, of Wilmington, Ohio, and Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington (MacDill Air Force Base/Ohio National Guard)
Far left NBC on Thursday attempted to use comments made by the father of a fallen Airman, who tragically died on board a refueling aircraft earlier this month, to discredit War Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Trump’s account of a meeting with Gold Star families at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
The story sought to debunk Hegseth’s remarks during a Pentagon press briefing with Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine last Thursday, where he honored the fallen troops in the ongoing Iran conflict.
Hegseth opened the briefing by speaking of his attendance at the dignified transfer of six heroes killed in the KC-135 crash over western Iraq during Operation Epic Fury. “We honored them, we grieved with their families, and we listened,” Hegseth said.
“Through tears, through hugs, through strength and through unbreakable resolve,” he continued, the message he heard from the families was “Finish this. Honor their sacrifice. Do not waver. Do not stop until the job is done.”
Fittingly, Hegseth also called out the “dishonest and anti-Trump press,” preemptively slamming them for what was to come.
WATCH:
NBC didn’t waste a minute before publishing a hit piece after speaking to Charles Simmons, the father of 28-year-old Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, who they say “recalled his exchange differently.”
Though it is not apparent that Hegseth meant that each family literally told him, “Finish this. Honor their sacrifice. Do not waver. Do not stop until the job is done,” NBC used one family member of one fallen hero to claim he was lying and make the Trump Administration look cold and cruel.
Per NBC:
Simmons said he spoke separately to Hegseth and President Donald Trump at Dover and was grateful for the warmth that both men showed him.
He and Hegseth spoke mostly about Tyler, his impressive service record and the speed with which he had advanced in the military, Simmons recalled.
He said he told the defense secretary, “I understand there’s a lot of peril that goes into making decisions like this, and I just certainly hope the decisions being made are necessary.”
Asked if he said anything to Hegseth or Trump about the need to keep fighting the war, Simmons said, “No, I didn’t say anything along those lines.”
A 60-year-old music teacher in Columbus, Ohio, Simmons told NBC News that he has “questions” about the war and isn’t able to draw “definitive conclusions when I don’t have all the data.”
“Who wants war?” he added. “Sometimes it’s a necessity, and I just don’t know what’s going on.”
Buried in the bottom of the story, however, NBC goes on to write more quotes from Simmons, where he expressed gratitude that the President teared up, hugged him, and looked him “straight in the eye” when expressing his compassion for the grieving father.
Simmons told NBC, “He extended his condolences father to father and conveyed how difficult it is to make decisions to put the children of other parents in peril.”
“When I talked to him [Hegseth], I got the impression that he was torn because he seemed to be a very compassionate man, faced with difficult decisions as it pertains to war,” Simmons added.
“I also let him know that Tyler was my only son. And you could see the emotion on his face. And I think those kinds of things you can’t fake.”
He further told the outlet, “I was pleasantly surprised because the perception is they [Trump and Hegseth] don’t care, they’re going to do what they want to do,” but “I got to see a different side of them up close and personal.”
In a separate story published on Monday, NBC reports that Matt Angst, the father of the late Air Force Capt. Curtis Angst, who died in the crash with Tyler Simmons, said Hegseth’s comments conveyed “the type of feeling” that he expressed.
“I just have faith that they know what they’re doing and are doing it for a good reason. We’ll never know all the information that they’ve been making their decisions on. So I just hope it’s all worth it,” Matt Angst said. Mother List Angst told NBC, “I’m a mother who lost her son. We loved him for 30 years, and no mother or father or sister or family member should lose a child. You’re just heartbroken, and he’ll always be our little boy playing with airplanes in our backyard.”
According to a source at the Pentagon, NBC contacted the Department of War prior to publication, confirming that Captain Angst’s father “affirmed” Hegseth’s comments.
The Gateway Pundit has not contacted either family. This story is simply meant to show the bias in coverage from the mainstream media.
In a statement, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said, “Secretary Hegseth has the utmost respect for our Gold Star families and has pledged to honor the sacrifice of their loved ones. While at Dover, the Secretary spoke with each family of our fallen heroes, and the details of each individual conversation remain private.”
The post NBC Disgracefully Buries Gold Star Father’s Account of Meeting with Trump and Hegseth, Claiming Hegseth Lied About Meeting with Families of Fallen Troops appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.