Gold Star father Darin Hoover told Newsmax on Tuesday he is “pretty optimistic” that the Pentagon’s special review of the events leading up to the terrorist attack during the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal will deliver long-awaited answers and hold responsible parties accountable.
Hoover, whose son Marine Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover was among the 13 U.S. service members killed in the Abbey Gate suicide bombing in 2021, was among the Gold Star families representing the slain service members who visited the White House on Monday. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation commemorating the fourth anniversary of the terrorist attack, which was Tuesday.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday that he anticipates a Pentagon special review panel looking into the circumstances surrounding the suicide bombing attack at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport should be ready to present its findings by sometime in mid-2026.
“Very hopeful,” Hoover told “Rob Schmitt Tonight.” “It’s a lot more so — much more so — than what President [Joe] Biden ever thought about doing because he didn’t do squat. This administration that’s come in promised us that it’s going to get taken care of, and we’re putting our trust in them.
It’s a “much, much, much different feel for the care of our veterans and that of our kids,” he said. “And to be honest with you, I’m pretty optimistic to see where this goes.”
Hoover mentioned a memorial 5-kilometer run Saturday in West Memphis, Arkansas, as part of a fundraiser for the SSGT Darin Taylor Hoover Memorial Scholarship Fund, which rewards local and national students who exhibit honor, courage, and commitment with scholarships for enriching their lives and furthering their education, as well as aid to veterans needing service dogs.
“The memorial was created in Taylor’s name by his mom and his sisters,” Hoover said. “And that is our big fundraiser. And it’s always the Saturday of the Labor Day weekend.
“And so with that memorial we give out scholarships to students — whether they go to traditional college or whether they go to a trade school — that show honor, courage, and commitment in their families, in their communities, school, whatever the case may be.
“And then a thing that’s near and dear to, especially my daughter’s heart — big heart for animals: giving away canines to worthy veterans.”
For more information on the fundraiser, visit the foundation’s website.
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