WENTZVILLE, Mo. – This article is part of a Fox News Digital series examining the consequences of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. It has been updated with new quotes and information as Jared Schmitz's father remembers the Marine two years after he was killed while assisting with the evacuation.
Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz thought he would die trying to get control over the Kabul airport during the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
After a few days, the military was able to secure some degree of order. Then Jared learned he would be moved from his initial post to the airstrip.
"'I'm exhausted. I've got to go,'" Jared's father, Mark Schmitz, recalled his son saying in one of their final conversations. "He was just hurting for sleep so bad."
Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, 20, was one of the 13 U.S. service members killed in the suicide bombing at the Kabul airport in August 2021. (Courtesy: Mark Schmitz)
"I told him I love him. He says, ‘I love you back,’" Mark recollected. "And that was the end of that phone call."
Jared, 20, was one of the 13 U.S service members killed by a suicide bomber at Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 26, 2021. At least 170 Afghan civilians also died from the blast.
But even if Jared had known an attack was imminent, he still wouldn't have changed his position, Mark said.
"He would’ve stayed right where he was," he told Fox News. "Because if it wasn't him, it would be someone else, and he would never allow that to happen to another brother or sister."
"If he was ever going to go out, he'd want to die a Marine," Mark added. "He would do it all over again."
But Jared's father still agonizes over unanswered questions about the Biden administration's decisions leading up to his son's death. Ahead of the second anniversary of the Kabul airport attack, Mark said President Biden and his administration have avoided accountability for the role they played in the 2021 attack.
"Two years later, we got the government and the [Department of Defense] doubling down on the lies they spewed the first year," he told Fox News. "Not much has changed other than the fact they have shown their true colors, and it's just utterly disrespectful."
He accused the Biden administration of lying about details surrounding the events leading up to Jared's death to avoid public shaming. He also said he hasn't gotten closure on how Jared died that day.
"I still don't know to this day if Jared was killed instantly or if he bled out over time," Mark said as his voice quivered.
"We as Gold Star families have realized we're not gonna be able to take Biden down for this … but we want the history to be written correctly," Mark said. "And we want to make sure that this never, ever happens again."
Biden released a general statement on the second anniversary of the Kabul airport attack.
"We will forever honor the memory of the 13 service members who were stolen far too soon from their families, loved ones, and brothers- and sisters-in-arms, while performing a noble mission on behalf of our nation," Biden said. "We can never repay the incredible sacrifice of any of the 2,461 U.S. service members who lost their lives over two decades of war in Afghanistan or the 20,744 who were wounded. But we will never fail to honor our sacred obligation to our service members and veterans, as well as their families, caregivers, and survivors."
Jared's uniform was 'his safe place’
Jared's interest in the armed forces started when he was a child, but his ambition to join the Marines really became apparent in high school, his father and stepmother, Jaclyn Schmitz, said.
At a young age, Jared was "just really passionate just about being there for people," Jaclyn told Fox News. Jared's father said his son's protective natured guided him toward the military.
"Jared made sure that no matter who you were, you were going to get taken care of," Mark said. "He would not allow for bullying to happen. He would always intervene."
Jared's father, Mark Schmitz plays with his young son. (Courtesy: Mark Schmitz)
Jared took his role as an older brother seriously. He watched out for his siblings and always walked them home from school, even carrying his youngest sister's backpack for her.
"Addison at one point said she was helping him for his Marine training," Jaclyn said.
And as a young teenager, Jared started training with local Marines every Saturday morning.
"I’d never seen him ever dedicate himself to something like he did that," Jaclyn told Fox News. "We knew at that point this was truly his calling."
Jared stands with his father, Mark, and his stepmother, Jaclyn. (Courtesy: Mark Schmitz)
But even once he became a Marine, Jared kept his goofy personality, Mark said. He would do funny dance moves and silly voices.
"Jared really was no different than he was at home," Mark said. "He had the most infectious laugh."
Still, "when he had the uniform on, there was a sense of pride that beamed from him, because he was finally where he wanted to be," Mark added. "Being in his uniform, I think, was his safe place."
The community's support has been a lifeline for Mark and Jaclyn since Jared's death, the couple said. It reminds Mark about how the country united after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Mark stressed the importance of that day to Jared during his upbringing, which the elder Schmitz believes was another factor that led his son to join the Marines.
"But the more important day to me in reflection now was Sept. 12, the day after, because I saw the America that I love," Mark told Fox News. "We were one America, and we were pissed off."
Americans crowd a highway as a funeral procession for Jared drives by in Missouri. (Courtesy: Mark Schmitz)
BIDEN'S AFGHANISTAN DISASTER LEAVES VETERANS WONDERING IF SACRIFICE WAS WORTH IT
Mark saw a similar unity when Jared's body was brought back home. The Marine's funeral procession included hundreds of vehicles that drove along a 31-mile route lined with thousands of people.
"I talk to him everywhere," Mark said of his son. "First and foremost, and most important, the painting in my office was painted by an artist in California."
The piece is a rendition of the last photo taken of Jared, captured just hours before he was killed.
Mark says good morning and good night to this painting of Jared every day. It's a rendition of the last photo of the Marine, taken the day he was killed. (Fox News Digital)
"It cheers me up every time I look at it," Mark told Fox News. "I just feel like he’s communicating back.
If Jared were still alive, Mark said he would tell him "you have made me so proud." His voice cracked as he held back tears. "You are 10 times the man that I will ever be."
"The country's so proud of you," Mark continued. "Everything you signed up for in the end was worth it."
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Mark and Jaclyn continue to honor Jared's memory through their nonprofit, The Freedom 13, which aims to provide veterans with recreational housing and connect them with fellow veterans in an effort to improve their mental well-being. It recently acquired Missouri property with plans to build a retreat for veterans and their families.
"Jared makes me proud to be a father," Mark told Fox News. "He was a true American in every sense of the word."
"I told my wife the other day, I'm not afraid to die," he said. "I know that in my heart of hearts, I'll see him again."
Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Mark Milley in a statement said: "We owe Gold Star families everything. We owe them transparency, we owe them honesty, we owe them accountability. We owe them the truth about what happened to their loved ones."
"I trust the Army, Navy and Marine Corps did the best they could in briefing the families who had loved ones killed at Abbey Gate," Milley continued. "I believe the briefers gave every piece of information that they could. If there was issues with that, we need to take whatever corrective action is necessary. And our hearts go out to those families."
"This is a personal thing for all of us in uniform. We don't like what happened in Afghanistan," he said. "We don't like the outcome of Afghanistan. We owe it to the families to take care of them. Their sacrifices were not in vain."
"For our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, CIA officers, department of State officer — anyone who served in Afghanistan over 20 plus years — the cost in blood was high, but every single one of us who served in Afghanistan should hold our heads high," Milley added. "Each served with skill, dedication and honor. For two decades, our nation was not attacked from Afghanistan — that was our mission, and each one can be rightly proud of their service."
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