Remembering Taylor Hoover (feat. Kelly Barnett)

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Remembering Taylor Hoover (feat. Kelly Barnett)"

Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley
Host: Savannah Chrisley
Guest: Kelly Barnett
Release Date: March 11, 2025

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Introduction

In this heartfelt episode of Unlocked with Savannah Chrisley, Savannah welcomes Kelly Barnett, the mother of Taylor Hoover, one of the 13 fallen soldiers from Afghanistan. The episode delves deep into Taylor’s life, his service in the Marine Corps, the tragic circumstances of his death, and Kelly’s relentless pursuit of accountability and support for veterans.

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Meeting Kelly Barnett

Savannah begins by recounting her first meeting with Kelly at the Republican National Convention (RNC) on August 26, 2021, highlighting the emotional impact of their encounter.

Savannah [01:04]: “I was just eating, and then Kelly came up and we started talking. I could barely have a conversation without crying.”

Kelly confirms the date and reflects on how recent the loss still feels.

Kelly Barnett [02:07]: “It seems like yesterday.”

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Taylor Hoover's Early Life and Service

The discussion shifts to Taylor’s upbringing and his decision to join the Marine Corps at age 20, foregoing a potential football career. Kelly describes Taylor as a mature and happy child who was deeply committed to his family and friends.

Kelly Barnett [02:26]: “He was such a good kid… a friend for life.”

Savannah inquires about Taylor’s motivations for joining the Marines, emphasizing his desire for brotherhood and protection.

Savannah [04:02]: “What was his biggest motivation to join the Marine Corps?”

Kelly Barnett [04:02]: “He wanted to protect. That’s on his gravestone, his headstone. Our protector.”

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Navigating Military Leadership Through Administrations

Kelly discusses how Taylor’s faith in the Marine Corps leadership wavered during the Obama administration, leading him to reenlist under President Trump’s administration with hopes for positive changes.

Kelly Barnett [05:08]: “During the Obama administration, he lost a lot of faith... When Trump was elected, Taylor reenlisted because he knew President Trump would make some changes.”

However, the withdrawal from Afghanistan under the Biden-Harris administration deeply affected Taylor and ultimately led to his tragic death.

Kelly Barnett [06:47]: “The Doha agreement had conditions they didn't keep. They pushed the withdrawal to September to align with 9/11... Our guys were trapped.”

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The Tragic Day of August 26, 2021

The conversation intensifies as Kelly recounts the harrowing events of August 26, 2021, when Taylor was killed during the chaotic evacuation from Kabul. She describes the emotional moment she received the devastating news.

Kelly Barnett [12:12]: “I was at my daughter's, watching the news... I thought he was invincible until I saw the Marines at my door.”

She details the lack of immediate communication and the subsequent confirmation of Taylor’s death.

Kelly Barnett [14:34]: “Nothing can prepare you for that.”

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Political Accountability and the Aftermath

Kelly expresses her frustration with the Biden-Harris administration's handling of the withdrawal, accusing them of politicizing the tragedy and failing to meet the agreed-upon conditions of the Doha Agreement.

Kelly Barnett [16:50]: “I believe we've gotten all the answers. I'm after accountability now.”

She criticizes the administration for delaying the withdrawal and not providing the promised support and acknowledgment to the families of fallen soldiers.

Kelly Barnett [19:35]: “We wanted an apology... We wanted them to look us in the face and say we're sorry. Nothing.”

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Founding the Taylor Hoover Memorial

In honor of her son, Kelly shares the establishment of the Taylor Hoover Memorial Foundation. The foundation focuses on scholarships based on honor, courage, and commitment, and provides service dogs to veterans, aiming to support those who have sacrificed for the country.

Kelly Barnett [27:07]: “We started scholarships based on honor, courage, commitment... We’ve given five service dogs to veterans.”

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Mental Health Advocacy for Veterans

Kelly addresses the critical issue of mental health support for veterans, highlighting the inadequate treatment provided by the VA and emphasizing the need for comprehensive mental health facilities.

Kelly Barnett [29:06]: “Mentally, there's just no help for them. It just needs to be revamped.”

Savannah echoes the sentiment, advocating for proper mental health treatment instead of merely prescribing medications.

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Ongoing Struggles and Seeking Accountability

Kelly outlines her ongoing fight for accountability, expressing her disappointment with the administration's response and her determination to hold those responsible accountable. She mentions reaching out to political figures like Pete Hegseth to push for further investigations.

Kelly Barnett [31:08]: “My biggest struggle is being without my son... We need accountability.”

Sophia references recent calls to remove officials who mishandled the withdrawal, aligning with Kelly’s demand for justice.

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Community and Support Initiatives

The episode highlights the community events organized by the foundation, such as the annual 5K run in West Memphis, Arkansas, aimed at raising funds and awareness for veterans’ support.

Kelly Barnett [33:48]: “We have a 5K every year on August 30th... All funds go to our veterans and scholarships.”

Savannah expresses her admiration and commitment to supporting the foundation’s efforts.

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Concluding Thoughts

In closing, Savannah and Kelly emphasize the importance of remembering and honoring fallen soldiers like Taylor Hoover. They discuss the need for systemic changes in military leadership and veterans' support systems to prevent future tragedies.

Savannah [44:20]: “I just have an enormous amount of respect for your son and every man and woman that's fighting for our country.”

Kelly Barnett [44:15]: “Until people are held accountable, we're going to continue to see this happen over and over again.”

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Key Takeaways

• Taylor Hoover's Legacy: A dedicated Marine whose life was tragically cut short during the Afghanistan withdrawal.
• Advocacy for Accountability: Kelly Barnett’s relentless pursuit of accountability from political and military leaders.
• Support for Veterans: Establishment of the Taylor Hoover Memorial Foundation focusing on scholarships and mental health support.
• Political Frustration: Critique of the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the Afghan withdrawal and its impact on military families.
• Community Engagement: Active efforts to engage the community through events like the annual 5K run to support veterans.

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Notable Quotes

• Savannah [01:04]: “I could barely have a conversation without crying.”
• Kelly Barnett [02:26]: “He was such a good kid… a friend for life.”
• Kelly Barnett [16:50]: “I believe we've gotten all the answers. I'm after accountability now.”
• Kelly Barnett [29:06]: “Mentally, there's just no help for them. It just needs to be revamped.”
• Savannah [44:20]: “I just have an enormous amount of respect for your son and every man and woman that's fighting for our country.”

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Supporting Kelly's Mission

Listeners are encouraged to support the Taylor Hoover Memorial Foundation through donations and participation in community events. The foundation is dedicated to honoring Taylor’s memory and providing tangible support to veterans in need.

Upcoming Event:

• 5K Run: August 30th in West Memphis, Arkansas
  A family-friendly event with music, vendors, and activities to raise funds for scholarships and service dogs for veterans.

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Conclusion

This episode serves as a powerful reminder of the sacrifices made by military families and the urgent need for accountability and comprehensive support systems for veterans. Kelly Barnett’s story is one of love, loss, and unwavering dedication to ensuring that no soldier is forgotten.

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Note: To support Kelly Barnett’s foundation and attend upcoming events, listeners can visit the Taylor Hoover Memorial Foundation’s website or scan the QR code provided in the podcast.

Transcript

[Kelly Barnett]

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[Kelly Barnett]

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[Savannah]

Welcome back to this week's episode of Unlocked. And before we get started, I'm just going to tell you if you're driving or if you're watching this on YouTube, you may need to get a box of tissues because I don't know if I'm going to make it through this without crying, but I have on Kelly Barnett. Welcome.

[Kelly Barnett]

Thanks, Hannah.

[Savannah]

And Kelly is the mom of for you guys will know as Darren T. Hoover. But he hated the name Darren, so his name is Taylor, Taylor Hoover. And he is One of the 13 fallen soldiers from Afghanistan. So you and I met at the rnc.

[Kelly Barnett]

Yes.

[Savannah]

And I was. We were staying in the same hotel and I was in the lobby and I think we were just like eating. And then maybe you came up someone.

[Kelly Barnett]

I did.

[Savannah]

Yes, you came up. And we just started talking and I was just. I could barely have a conversation without crying. And when we met, you gave me this, if you remember this sticker. And I still have it. I like keep it on my fridge at home. But that happened August 26, 2021.

[Kelly Barnett]

Yes, it did.

[Savannah]

That's. Then it probably seems like just yesterday for you.

[Kelly Barnett]

It does, Savannah. It seems like when you think back about it, it seems like a whole different world has gone on since then. But it does seem like yesterday.

[Savannah]

So tell us about Taylor just growing up. Like what it was like, what he was like. His energy, his.

[Kelly Barnett]

Oh, okay, I gotta stop. He was the best kid. I mean, I just. I don't know why I'm tearing up because it was such a happy time. He was such a happy kid. Always so mature. He kind of raised me in a way. I'm not kidding. He did. He was such a good kid. Football was his thing. He loved watching movies. He loved to do impersonations. Jim Carrey.

[Savannah]

No, everything.

[Kelly Barnett]

Jim Carrey was that kid that was amazing. And he did it perfect. He did it perfect. And it was always, you know, mom, what? You know, he would say something funny and he'd be like, what movie is that from? You know, and just a good kid. And he loved his sisters, he loved his mom, he loved, you know, he loved his friends. He was like the best friend. If he was your friend, you had a friend for life. If he wasn't, then you were in trouble. But just a good kid.

[Savannah]

And how old. How old was he when he went in. Into the service?

[Kelly Barnett]

He was 20.

[Savannah]

20, okay.

[Kelly Barnett]

He was 20. And the reason he was 20 is because he. He wanted to go in. In high school. And we said no, we were hoping that he would do. Make a career out of football. And that didn't happen. He wanted the Marine Corps, but we told him, please give us a year or two. Think about it, you know, let's see what college does. And no, it was the Marine Corps. As soon as that time limit was up, he signed.

[Savannah]

And what was his. What was his biggest to the Marine Corps?

[Kelly Barnett]

I think the brotherhood. They had come to the school, which they go to all the high schools. It was just the brotherhood. When he was a kid, he always. It was always Marines that he played with and, you know, not the army men. It was Marines. And he always wanted to, I don't know, be. Be something bigger than. I don't know. He always thought that there was more to life than just going to school, going to college. He wanted to protect. That's. That's on his gravestone, his headstone. Our protector. Just because that was always his thing.

[Savannah]

Yeah.

[Kelly Barnett]

From six years old.

[Savannah]

And so when he. This. I guess so he was in for what, 11 years. 11 years before the attack happened. And he had lived through multiple administrations, being at war with multiple administrations. What was the difference throughout all the years?

[Kelly Barnett]

Well, you know, he joined, you know, with all these big things in mind about the military, you know, knowing that they would have its back and that there would be leadership and there would be brotherhood and there would be protection. During the Obama administration, he lost a lot of faith and he wanted nothing. He wanted out. And he was. He would tell me that the. The leadership of the Marine Corps had taken a big turn to the left, and they were no longer thinking of the guys, thinking of the men and women of the Marine Corps. They were thinking of how it. The perception. That's the liberal thing. Perception, and he wanted out. When Trump. When President Trump was elected, his first term, Taylor reenlisted. And the only reason he did reenlist is because he knew President Trump would make some changes. And it was good for that four years. And then, you know, 2020 came.

[Savannah]

And what people don't, a lot of people, because obviously you've lived through all the back and forth and people wanting to place blame here or there, whatever. Trump did sign an agreement that we were going to pull out of Afghanistan, and it was supposed to happen within a certain time period. And so you all knew that.

[Kelly Barnett]

Yes.

[Savannah]

Correct. Like you knew this was gonna happen and we're gonna pull out. This was the agreement. This is. I mean, that's what we all wanted. We all wanted our troops home and to pull out, but it was a matter of. It wasn't a matter of pulling out. It was a matter of how it was executed. Is that correct?

[Kelly Barnett]

100%. It was the Doha agreement. And there was. There were conditions. They had to keep those conditions, and they didn't keep those conditions. And the time frame was May and Biden Harris, they pushed that back to September. They just kept dragging their feet. They pushed it to September because they wanted September 11th. They wanted that show, they wanted that picture, they wanted that. I don't know, they wanted to be able to say they did it on the. The anniversary of 9, 11. And, you know, I don't know how much you want to get into everything that happened, but it is basically that reasoning, the State Department, General Milley, they just kept dragging their feet. They did not want to be embarrassed by closing that stupid embassy in Kabul. And that was the whole reason that our guys were basically trapped. If you, if you could see, I should have brought all the pictures and, you know, I could have showed you later. But of all the, you know, the, the whole setup of the airport and the non. The non. Security that our guys had. And you would. Your. Your mind would probably be blown, didn't you?

[Savannah]

And correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you say that basically, like, our guys were being protected by the terrorists? Yeah, that was by the terrorist group.

[Kelly Barnett]

That was the agreement that Millie and McKenzie made that the Taliban would be their security. Yeah, yeah. The people. See, Taylor was in Afghanistan two times before. That was his third time on Afghan soil. So the people that he was fighting, the. The two previous times on Afghan soil were now supposed to be protecting him. Yeah, yeah. And they were. There are so many things that they saw over there that you. You would probably be you'd be sickened. The things that they had to see that the Taliban was doing to these people.

[Savannah]

And when. How often did you talk to Taylor?

[Kelly Barnett]

Well, his. His platoon was on a special, so they were supposed to just be going over to, you know, the Middle east, going over to the area over there, Saudi Arabia and all that. But Taylor's platoon got called to a special meeting or a special mission. Yeah, sorry, no, a special mission. And they were on a ship, and there were 20. I believe it was like, 28 Marines. There was 151 total people on this ship. So it wasn't a very big ship. The 28 Marines were the security. It was a secret mission with, you know, top agencies in the Navy. They were basically outside of Iran's waters, watching Iran. And so while he was on that mission, he would talk to me probably every other day. He was able to call if they were in range, where they could get out service. And then when they went to Afghanistan. So they. They were on that boat from May until the end of July.

[Savannah]

Okay.

[Kelly Barnett]

And then. So From August to 1st of August to August 15th, they went back to Saudi Arabia. And then he called me and said, mom, you know, I'm leaving. I'm going somewhere. He wouldn't say where it was, but, you know, the innuentials. He knew I knew what he was talking about. And so they left, and they were there August 15th, so two weeks in Saudi Arabia, and then they were in Kabul. And I talked to him just by text maybe twice while he was there, and that's it.

[Savannah]

And what did he say in text?

[Kelly Barnett]

He would just say, basically, he was a stickler. And so when they were out on their patrols, he wouldn't allow his guys to have their phones. He was old school. He was what you would call the old war horse. That's what they called him. And so they wouldn't. He wouldn't allow them to have their phone, so he wouldn't have his either. Yeah, but he would just tell me, you know, when he had a chance, he would just say, you know, everything's good. I'm safe. I love you. That would be the. Basically it. Now, I know some of his friends, some of his old, you know, all the Marines that he was with, he would. He would actually tell them a lot more and actually. Actually ask them for some guidance on some things that was going on. They're starting to tell me all the things that they talked about now. But. But, yeah, I wasn't able to talk to him much, but I know the night before he was killed, he texted me and said, mom, I'm good, I love you. And that was his last text to me.

[Savannah]

And so when that happened, how did you find out? Because you were, I mean, I can only imagine you were probably watching the news like the rest of us and the just horrible footage of what's happening at that airport and people falling off planes and we were all watching the same thing.

[Kelly Barnett]

That was a day. Yeah, I found out like right after it happened. I was at my daughter's at the time. She lives like three hours away, but I was with her visiting and I was in the kitchen and I was working because I work from home. And I was just on my laptop watching it and I'm like, oh my gosh. But you know, there was 6,000 people there. And you're like, that's, you know, not my son, you know, it's not him. And so I just kept watching and it just kept getting worse. The number, the death toll just kept going up and up, you know, first it was five, then it was eight, then. And then I'm like, oh my gosh. And so I had to drive home. It was a three hour drive and we all just kept texting, you know, send a text, just let us know you're okay. And nothing. And you know, I had to pull over and I just said a prayer. I'm like, just please let him be okay. You know, And I have to admit that I thought the kid was invincible. So I just kept thinking in my mind, it's not him. You know, he's been through worse. You know, he was in Afghanistan, you know, the first round. And yeah, he's been through work. I mean, he went out on patrols where he was the one looking for the. I mean, I don't know. So I just thought, you know, he's invincible. And. And then I get home and, you know, everybody I'm talking to is like, you know, no word. You know, no word is good. It's good. You know, no news is good news. And I kept thinking, okay. And it was about 10:30 at night and we were watching a movie and the movie just got over and I just got up and I was going to go walk downstairs to change laundry and I got around the corner and the doorbell rang. I just looked at my son in law and I'm like, this isn't good. So I walk around the corner and the doors are glass and I see three marines, fully dressed standing at the door. I just dropped to the floor and my son in law answered and you Know, you get that speech, you know, on behalf of a grateful nation, you know, I'm sorry. And.

[Savannah]

Nothing can prepare you for that.

[Kelly Barnett]

No. And yeah. Just horrible.

[Savannah]

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[Savannah]

And part of me can't help but feel like a lot of this was politicized. Did you ever feel that at any point in time.

[Kelly Barnett]

Yeah.

[Savannah]

That his death was politicized in a way that maybe he wouldn't have wanted or that you didn't want or. Cause you hear different things from sometimes.

[Kelly Barnett]

I, you know, we didn't hear much at all from the administration, from the Biden Harris administration at all. When we went to Dover, you know, all about that big mess where he was checking his watch and I, you know, I had asked for him not to come talk to me. I wanted nothing to do with him.

[Savannah]

Yeah.

[Kelly Barnett]

And then after that, you know, they, they, they kept playing it off as that it was a, you know, such a success and the world knew it was, it was a disaster. Never a success. And then I, you know, I, I kind of think of all the things that I've done as far as, you know, trying to get answers and advocate. Yeah, I think 100% he would want that because he, he, he knew how corrupt it was and how it was such a botched mission.

[Savannah]

What answers have you gotten?

[Kelly Barnett]

Well, I believe we've gotten all the answers. I'm after accountability now.

[Savannah]

Okay.

[Kelly Barnett]

And you know, some say revenge maybe. Yeah, a little bit. Yeah. We know 100% that it was the administration, the generals, they botched it. They waited too long to get the guys in. They waited till the Taliban was in Kabul.

[Savannah]

They put them right in the middle.

[Kelly Barnett]

100%. We lost Bagram. I don't know how much you know about the military, but that was one of the best bases that we've had in the world strategically. And 100% security wise. I Don't know how we lost it.

[Savannah]

I mean, we gave them everything. Correct. Like the weaponry, the. Just everything.

[Kelly Barnett]

Yeah.

[Savannah]

I was at CPAC this past week and President Trump had mentioned, I guess, everything that they're uncovering, just all the money and where it's going. And he said that if we're going to continue giving Afghanistan, Iran, all of them, this money, then they're going to give us something for it and we're going to get every single piece of machinery back that they were given, which I found to be interesting. Now, whether it's going to happen or not, who knows? And what. So the first administrator during the Biden Harris administration, you didn't get what you wanted out of that?

[Kelly Barnett]

No, there was no. You know, we'd asked for them to meet with us several times and basically we wanted an apology.

[Savannah]

Yeah. You wanted an acknowledgement.

[Kelly Barnett]

An acknowledgement. We wanted an apology. We wanted to know why you would do that when you knew when, when your generals were saying that they told you not to do it, which I don't know if that's true or not, but that's what they're saying, that's what they're claiming. But that's all we wanted. We wanted them to look us in the face and say we're sorry. We wanted them to say our kids names, acknowledge them, acknowledge their sacrifice. Nothing. We actually, when Harris was campaigning, you know, I personally asked for her to meet with us. Nothing. She was too afraid because she can't have a conversation with anybody. She can't answer questions, she can't hold her own. That was the whole point of that.

[Savannah]

Yeah.

[Kelly Barnett]

And she knew it was going to be tough because we don't, we don't play around. We're gonna, we're gonna tell you how we feel.

[Savannah]

Miniature child.

[Kelly Barnett]

Exactly. Exactly. And they know that we have all the information and they know that we know a lot more than they know about what happened.

[Savannah]

And how did you figure out what happened?

[Kelly Barnett]

I actually knew how it went down that day because I talked to his guys and you know, the ones that are very trustworthy, their story never wavered. The guys on the ground, their stories never wavered. Their first accounts to us is what.

[Savannah]

Happened and what did happen in Taylor's situation.

[Kelly Barnett]

Taylor. Okay. So they were out. And I wish I would have brought pictures because it gives you a better picture.

[Savannah]

Yeah.

[Kelly Barnett]

And to tell you, to show you how close they were. I mean, me to my, you know, to that chair.

[Savannah]

Yeah.

[Kelly Barnett]

That's how close they were to these people. And there were thousands of people and they were trying to figure out, is this person gonna kill me? Is that person gonna kill me? You know what I mean? And while they were doing that, they still had to look at people. People's documents. These Marines were looking at people's documents. They had to have certain documents that the State Department told them that they had to have before they could send them through the fence. These are Marines.

[Savannah]

That's. That's not their job.

[Kelly Barnett]

No, the State Department should have been out there on the lines pulling people through with the Marines being the security. But that's not how it worked. That morning, Taylor's platoon, which was echo, was on one side of the. The fence on this. This side, and then Golf Company was on this side. And then they. They pulled them all together, which was a mistake when they did that, people just rushed in. So they were all right there. And Taylor's guys, it was time for them to have a break. So they went back and they got some water. But Taylor had a interpreter that he was trying to get out from his first deployment. And so he went out, back out. Golf Company was still out. Taylor's guys, his Echo Company was behind. Taylor went out, and he had gotten news that there was an interpreter that needed to come through, but it wasn't his, but he was going to go help anyway. So he went out and he called up to the sniper tower, you know, the tower that you see, and he said, hey, this interpreter that you guys are looking for is down here, and he's asking for you. So that's when Tyler Vargas Andrews came down, and him and Taylor knew each other pretty well, and they were talking and they were dealing with the interpreter and trying to get the interpreter's family through, and that's when the bomb went off. So, you know, Taylor was killed, that interpreter, his whole family was killed. You know, Tyler was horribly injured, and that's how it happened.

[Savannah]

And I cannot imagine, too, the. Do you speak to Tyler all the time? Yeah.

[Kelly Barnett]

Yeah. Our Taylor's foundation, we actually gave Tyler a dog, a service dog, and his name's Gunner, and him and Tyler are best friends now. And Tyler and his fiance Victoria, we're all very close, and we try to keep up with him as much as possible.

[Savannah]

That's awesome. And so when President Trump, I guess, started campaigning again or got really hot and heavy on the campaign trail, obviously this was a big topic of discussion. Did they reach out to you, the Trump team?

[Kelly Barnett]

Yeah, we actually reached out to them.

[Savannah]

Okay.

[Kelly Barnett]

Just because, like I said, I've always been a Trump supporter from the beginning, from the first time that he ran, we reached out to them. And then it was after we reached out to them, it started being a back and forth thing. When they needed us, you know, they would ask us to come to their rallies or, and if we needed them, we would ask them. So, you know, the whole Arlington, the big Arlington tobacco is what, you know, the left would call it. Yes, well, that was me. I had asked him personally because every year I lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for Taylor on the anniversary August 26th. I've done it from get go. And so I asked Trump, you know, President Trump if he would come and lay a wreath with me. And he said sure. And we, at that point, you know, after he said yes, and I said, well, let me talk to the, you know, G family, let me talk to the Knauss family and see if they want to do it too. They said yes. And then the governor of the state of Utah, which Utah has been great with us, they've been helping us and helping us get things. The Attorney general, Sean Reyes, are you familiar with his name at all?

[Savannah]

Yes.

[Kelly Barnett]

And he helped us, and he helped us get in contact with the Trump team and, and Congressman Issa and, and Congress, Congressman Waltz and Mills and Mass. And so we had in. The governor of Utah sent a letter to the Biden administration saying they're laying a wreath. Trump's going to be there. You should probably be there. They, you know, if you want to be there, you're welcome to be there. No response whatsoever. And so when people say that we didn't contact them, they're completely lying. They were invited to that. And, but the whole thing was my idea. I wanted Trump there because I knew that, I knew that Taylor would like that.

[Savannah]

Yeah.

[Kelly Barnett]

And so he did it. And it was, it was a beautiful day.

[Savannah]

And is that where this was done?

[Kelly Barnett]

No, that was at his. I'm losing my train of thought here. It was at his golf course in New Jersey. What is that?

[Savannah]

Oh, Bedminster.

[Kelly Barnett]

Yes, that was at Bedminster. That was the best time ever. We just thought we were going to say hi to him. It ended up we stayed there for six hours. We had dinner, we listened to music, we dance, we talked to him.

[Savannah]

Six hours, that's amazing.

[Kelly Barnett]

Six hours.

[Savannah]

And what does that feel like for you?

[Kelly Barnett]

That feels like we are recognized that our kids are important, that, that people care. That's all we wanted to know, that our kids mattered and that people realized their sacrifice and that's what that opened for us.

[Savannah]

Well, that was the first thing you said, you said, I just want to talk about my son.

[Kelly Barnett]

Yeah.

[Savannah]

Like, I just want to tell everyone about him.

[Kelly Barnett]

That's our worst fear, if you ask any of those moms, is our kids being forgotten. That's horrible to me and I can't fathom it. And I think that's a lot of our drive.

[Savannah]

And so now with Taylor, you've started a foundation and tell us about that, what you're aiming to do.

[Kelly Barnett]

Well, it's the Staff Sergeant Darren Taylor Hoover Memorial. And what we started out doing is we did some scholarships, which Taylor would be like, come on, mom. But we did that because that's just, you know, that's just we wanted to reach people that are like Taylor. We don't base it off of their grades at all. I don't care what your grades are. We base it off of honor, courage, commitment. We basically base it off of what you do for your community, what your beliefs and morals are.100%. And then the last two years, we've been giving service dogs. We've given five service dogs now to veterans. One of them was to this sweet man from Vietnam. He's a Vietnam veteran. And then Tyler Vargas Andrews, which is very close to my heart. And so that's what our Taylor. When Taylor was going to retire from the military, he was going to move to Texas, open up, kind of a. I'm kind of. I want to say ranch, but it was going to be a ranch for training and shooting and it was going to be for veterans. He was, he wanted. His dad is a police officer and so he wanted to do it for police officers as well, because that was close to his heart too. But that's what he wanted to do. Veterans, veterans, veterans. Even when he was in, because like I said, he was an old war horse. Most of the people that he served with were already out and he knew the kind of things that they went through, not just physically, but mentally. And there's a lot of them that are struggling.

[Savannah]

And that leads me to a question of, do you believe that our men and women get the proper mental health treatment that they need?

[Kelly Barnett]

Both of my son in laws are veterans as well. One's a Marine, one's Army. Actually, the army one is still in, but. And my daughter's husband, who is a Marine, actually was in 3:7 with Taylor on Taylor's first deployment back in 2011. They didn't know each other, but they were in the same company. But, you know, he has a lot of ptsd, and every month he just gets These pills shipped to him. That's it.

[Savannah]

That's it. That's it.

[Kelly Barnett]

That's it. You know, he goes to the VA often for his back and things like that, but mentally there's just no help for them, I don't think. I think there's good people in the VA that want to help, but it's just not happening. And I think that just needs to be revamped.

[Savannah]

Well, that's the thing. Instead of just throwing meds, meds at these men and women, give them proper mental health treatment, have proper mental health facilities that they can go to and talk to someone. And all the cutting edge technology. I mean, we live in the United States of America. Like, if I can go and get therapy or what, everyone should be able to, especially our men and women who sacrifice their lives.

[Kelly Barnett]

It's kind of felt like under the Biden and Harris administration, that the veterans and Obama can't leave that man out. It felt like our veterans were a nuisance. They just wanted to, like, push him away and be like, it's amazing.

[Savannah]

They're the ones that are fighting for you to run for a position.

[Kelly Barnett]

Exactly.

[Savannah]

Wow.

[Kelly Barnett]

Exactly.

[Savannah]

So what has been. What's been your biggest struggle? Are there answers you need? Are there? Who do you want to hold accountable?

[Kelly Barnett]

I've got a list.

[Savannah]

Go ahead.

[Kelly Barnett]

My biggest struggle is just being without my son, my best friend. You know, I. There are. I want accountability. My biggest struggle is people not. I don't understand. And when I screw up at work, I'm like, oh, crap, I'm sorry. Yeah, I did that. I won't do it again. I'm going to fix it. And then we move on. You know, I take my punches. We move on. If they would have just come out and said, this was a mistake, this is what happened. We did this wrong, this wrong, this wrong. We're going to fix it. You know, I know war is hell. You're not always gonna do things perfect. Even the guys on the ground, as perfect as they are, they don't do it all perfect, you know, but when you take accountability, when you take responsibility and you fix it and you strive to do better, you know, that's all you can do. And that's 100% not what we got. And I don't think we are ever gonna get that. But I think. I think President Trump's going to help us a little bit, get some. Some of that.

[Savannah]

Well, like I saw today to where he told Pete Hegseth to get rid of every individual that botched our withdrawal.

[Kelly Barnett]

Yeah. And Pete is such a good guy. I'm so excited that he's in there because he does listen to us. We have his ear and like I said, I got a list.

[Savannah]

Good, good. Make sure the people on your list are held accountable because you know Taylor's like, come on.

[Kelly Barnett]

Oh yeah, that's.

[Savannah]

So how can people donate to you guys?

[Kelly Barnett]

So we do have. And, and I, I think we're going to put that up. It's just the, the barcode for it. But it's like I said this Staff Sergeant SSgt Taylor Hoover memorial and if you go on there it tells us, tells all about, you know, what we're doing and we're have. We have a 5K in West Memphis, Arkansas coming up. We do the 5K every year that's coming up August 30th and it's always a good time. We have music, you know, not a, you know we have some really good runners that come but it's, it's mostly a. We're going to eat and hang out, you know the southern thing. And I love buy stuff.

[Savannah]

That's amazing.

[Kelly Barnett]

Lots of, lots of, lots of vendors come and sell their good stuff and it's just a good day. And like I said, all the funds, nobody's paid in our organization. Every bit of the funds go to our veterans, go to the scholarships.

[Savannah]

And that's amazing 100% because a lot of these don't do that. As we know.

[Kelly Barnett]

No they don't.

[Savannah]

As we know. I don't even know if I showed this. So these are all 13. And I remember when all this was happening and the social media post I would see and just. It was so crazy how people tried to justify or tried to. There's no justification for what happened on August 26th of 2021.

[Kelly Barnett]

And you know, a lot of people tried to make it. Well, it's war. And they signed up for that. That was a non combative supposed to be.

[Savannah]

Yes, evacuation. Exactly.

[Kelly Barnett]

But because I would have happened.

[Savannah]

The deal was to pull out by May.

[Kelly Barnett]

Right, Right.

[Savannah]

And then it was extended.

[Kelly Barnett]

Yep.

[Savannah]

And then during that extension was when they put all of their terrorists in there.

[Kelly Barnett]

That's when the Taliban took over the country. They. They took it over and they did it. I mean they did it pretty quick. I can understand that. But they knew it was coming. They had the intel. I mean we have such intel. They knew it was coming. They didn't want to close that embassy. They didn't want to be embarrassed and close that embassy. So they kept halting it and that's where they didn't want to. They didn't want to call it. And that's what happened. They waited till they. They took over, and then we. They say we had no choice, but then to have the Taliban be the security.

[Savannah]

So that makes a lot of sense.

[Kelly Barnett]

Yeah.

[Savannah]

In full transparency, guys, we stopped the podcast and we're totally finished. And then she proceeded to tell me something that I was just mind blown by and did not know that I think needs to be told. So you were speaking about when they put these men and women on the plane to bring them back home?

[Kelly Barnett]

Right after the guys were. Had to do that, the men and women that were left there that survived, they put them on the plane to send them home. They were told to destroy all the equipment, though. They destroyed the trucks, they destroyed radio, anything, you know, radios in the towers, whatever. Anything that they could. They were told to destroy it so they wouldn't leave it for the Taliban. And then the next day, they were told that they could not leave until it was cleaned up. They had to clean up the airport. They made these men and women who had just put their friends on an airplane, who had just Deceased friends, had just been murdered on an. On the airplane. They had to clean up the airport because they couldn't leave it dirty for the Taliban.

[Savannah]

And who gave that directive?

[Kelly Barnett]

I'm not sure where that came from. At the top, I know that everybody on the ground, all the boots on the ground, even, you know, the higher ups were mad. So it came from somewhere on the top. The administration, Millie Kenzie, one of them.

[Savannah]

So we have to clean up for the Taliban who just murdered our men and women.

[Kelly Barnett]

Yep.

[Savannah]

Yeah. Devastating fight like hell till you take every single one of them.

[Kelly Barnett]

Yep.

[Savannah]

Like, they all should be without jobs at this point.

[Kelly Barnett]

Check, check.

[Savannah]

I mean, and the fact that those details are hidden from us, I feel like we should have a full report on August 26, 2021, a full detailed report with their internal correspondence with. I mean, has anyone asked for that?

[Kelly Barnett]

Yeah, there's been several investigations that have been done, but they've been, you know, the first one was done, you know, to the liking of the administration. The second one was done last year by the Foreign Affairs Committee. It's a pretty good investigation. It's in there.

[Savannah]

Okay.

[Kelly Barnett]

It's all in there. But I know Pete Hegseth is gonna do, you know, further investigation, and that's gonna be the raw. That's gonna be the one that I'm sure is gonna hit on everything that needs to be hit on, because this.

[Savannah]

Needs to be very public. Just like we're touching on all the Epstein stuff right now. Like this needs to be the center. Focus of who told them to do these things.

[Kelly Barnett]

We need names.

[Savannah]

Exactly. That's the thing. I want names. I don't care that this happened. This happened. Give me names of who told you to do X, Y and Z.

[Kelly Barnett]

Exactly.

[Savannah]

Because to clean up an airport for the Taliban after you just put your men and women on a plane and that very.

[Kelly Barnett]

Well.

[Savannah]

It could have happened again while they were cleaning up this airport.

[Kelly Barnett]

It could have happened a million times. There's no, there's no. I don't know. There's. There's no telling how many times they. They Something happened that they escaped.

[Savannah]

Yeah.

[Kelly Barnett]

Getting killed themselves. But. Yeah.

[Savannah]

Wow. I mean, if you had to take a guess as to why, what would that be?

[Kelly Barnett]

They were more worried about their. Their again, the liberals and their. Their perception. They were more worried about, you know what. They were worried about what the Taliban was. Was thinking. They were worried. They wanted to make them happy, keep them happy.

[Savannah]

And meanwhile, we're still paying them, oh.

[Kelly Barnett]

40 to 80 million dollars a week. We were. I don't think we are now.

[Savannah]

No, no. But even now we're still paying something. Yeah. It's. Who knows to this day now that Trump's in. But I know that they've been uncovering that we've still been paying them money, which is why he said we need all of our equipment back. Have you been able to like, ask the people that were with him? He sent me this text that was there something going on?

[Kelly Barnett]

I know that he, you know, he was just a staff sergeant, but he. They would. His guys would tell me that he didn't care. He would go toe to toe with the generals and tell them this is. This is not right. This is not going to work. And I just think it was. And pulling them, you know, when I told you earlier how they pulled, you know, Echo was right here on the wall. Golf company was right here on the wall. Disbursement. How they had them dispersed. Disbursement means, you know, you're. You got a. Maybe a wall of 100ft to guard, but you put somebody, you know, 10, 6ft apart. You don't put everybody together. They were all bunched together. And that little bitty area. That's why so many got killed. They were, you know, but they pulled them.

[Savannah]

And do we know exactly the individual that. How was the bomb. Who did it? You know, obviously, we know it's a group much Savannah.

[Kelly Barnett]

They say it was isis, but I mean, it could have been just. It could have been isis. But Taliban knew it was coming. They let the guy in. I mean, there was the Taliban as well. Oh, he was obliterated. I mean, there was nothing left. The Taliban checkpoint, they let him in. They knew he was coming. And they have a specific way that they. When they are the suicide bomber, they wear all black. They're well shave and everything shaved. And if you see. I don't know if you've seen the video, you can see a split second of the man stepping forward. Picture perfect suicide bomber. And it just freaks me out because Taylor was turned. So the suicide bomber came here. Taylor was turned this way, looking this way. I'm like, oh my gosh. If he had just been turned around, maybe he could have like blown his head off. But I mean, it happened within seconds of the guy stepping forward. So it. Nobody had a chance to do anything to that bomber. But yeah, anyway, what were we talking about? Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

[Savannah]

What?

[Kelly Barnett]

Sorry. So Tyler Vargas, Andrews sniper, he was up in the tower. Taylor pulled him down. Remember earlier that day, they saw the bomber and they asked for permission to shoot because they have to. They had, you know, they have a bullet points of. Of what qualifies for them to say, behave. We need to get rid of this dude. They had those bullet points met. They called upper command and said, hey, we got this guy. Can I take him out? Lt. Col. Whited, he's on my list.

[Savannah]

Good, let's say his name.

[Kelly Barnett]

He's a boot on the ground, which makes me sad, but he's useless and he doesn't need, you know, I don't want him in jail or anything, but he doesn't need to lead men. Anyway. They called him up there and they said, can we take him out? And he said, I don't know. And they're like, what do you mean you don't know? That's what he said, I don't know. And they're like, well, who knows? Who can we get permission from? He's like, I'll call it up. He called it up, never returned information to the snipers, and they lost the guy. But here's the. The big kicker that the. The Biden and Harris administration say their. Their investigation. So they say that it was a different bomber. So there's no DNA to prove that it was a different bomber. Then, you know, they have two pictures that say, this is the bomber, this is the guy that did it, and this is the guy that Tyler saw. And they say there's no DNA to prove who it is. It's just the Taliban said that's who it was.

[Savannah]

Oh, so we're going to.

[Kelly Barnett]

We're taking the Taliban's words. That was the bomber. Yeah. Yep. Yep. So they're saying that Tyler was wrong. That wasn't the one.

[Savannah]

No.

[Kelly Barnett]

Tyler was 100% correct.

[Savannah]

Exactly. So he was 100% correct, and they.

[Kelly Barnett]

Should have took him out. Wow.

[Savannah]

So all of this could have been avoided very easily by one shot.

[Kelly Barnett]

But what their. Their backing is of that is if he would have taken him out, there'd just been one. Another one to come to replace it.

[Savannah]

Gosh, I'm so sorry you've had to go through this. And you.

[Kelly Barnett]

Thank you.

[Savannah]

But, you know, you are changing lives, that is. And you keep your list and you hold every single one of them accountable, because until people are held accountable, we're going to continue to see this happen over and over and over again.

[Kelly Barnett]

100%. Yes.

[Savannah]

Well, I will come do your 5K. I'm not a runner. The only time I'm running is if I'm running away from somebody.

[Kelly Barnett]

There you go.

[Savannah]

I will come do your 5k with you. That will be awesome. And I just have an enormous amount of respect for your son and every man and woman that's fighting for our country. I mean, they're the reason we can sit and do this today.

[Kelly Barnett]

You're right.

[Savannah]

They're the reason that President Trump is doing his thing. While former presidents have their secret service, how they get to go from day to day because of these men and women.

[Kelly Barnett]

Right.

[Savannah]

So I cannot thank you enough. And we're Gonna put this QR code for you guys. If you feel led, 100 of it is going to help our veterans. So thank you. That's the greatest thing ever. So thank you.

[Kelly Barnett]

Thank you.

[Kaitlin Bristowe]

All right. I may not be as funny as Nikki Laser.

[Savannah]

I want to pitch a series of, like, calendars where men are just crying in a therapist's office or punching a pillow and working out their anger towards their dad.

[Kaitlin Bristowe]

But I do have my moments. I actually have full conversations with the moon. Yes. I try to keep it pretty balanced on this podcast. A little fun dance between comedy therapy, self medicating. Oh, and sorry if you haven't guessed. Hi, I'm Kaitlin Bristowe, host of off the vine podcast, where we like to just keep things loose and keep them raw and keep them real. Like when we have listeners call in and give confessions.

[Savannah]

And then that glass of wine progressed into me becoming a unicorn for them. So but we do.

[Kaitlin Bristowe]

And I promise you this. Try to keep it honest and vulnerable. So jump on the wagon, not off. Grab your favorite bottle of wine, preferably spade and sparrows, and join the vinos. Have yourself a time. The off the vine podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Kelly Barnett]

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[Savannah]

Very cool.

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[Kelly Barnett]

You can't outrun this.

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[Savannah]

We got you.

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[Savannah]

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