The Gold Star relative of a fallen Marine defended Donald Trump after he posed smiling by her sister’s grave.
On Monday, Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where he attended a memorial to commemorate the deaths of 13 U.S. service people killed in the 2021 Abbey Gate suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan. The former president received criticism after he smiled and gave a thumbs-up while taking photos at the graves of some of the fallen service people.
One of the murdered military personnel was 23-year-old Marine Corps Sergeant Nicole Gee, whose family attended the memorial, laying a wreath alongside Trump and later posing for photos with him by her grave.
Misty Fuoco, Gee’s sister, said having the former president there “for the three-year anniversary of the bombing at Abbey Gate was a complete honor.”
“Trump and his team were nothing but respectful,” Fuoco told Newsweek.
President Donald Trump during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on August 26, and Nicole Gee being promoted to the rank of Marine Corps sergeant in Kuwait on August 2, 2021. Gee was one of the 13 service people commemorated at Monday’s ceremony.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images, Instagram/@nicole_gee_
“My family asked Trump to take the photos with us as we wanted to have photos to remember that moment. We took multiple sets of photos,” she continued. “The first set were the regular smiling photos, and the second set was the thumbs-up photos.”
Fuoco said Gee “was always known for using the ‘rock on’ gesture” instead of a thumbs-up, “so it is a habit for my family to remember her and use the same hand gestures she would have.” The “rock on” gesture has different meanings across various cultures, but it is made by extending the index finger, little finger and thumb while holding down the two middle fingers.
“If my family didn’t have that specific tradition, we would have also had thumbs-up in those photos,” she added.
The Golden Star sister also reacted to the criticism Trump has received after attending the memorial, saying, he “has been supporting our family for several years and has taken the time to listen to our stories of Nicole.”
“I think the backlash being received is ridiculous and does not at all reflect how important it was for our families to have Trump’s support on that day,” Fuoco added.
Gee was raised in California and entered active military service in 2017. She first worked as a transmission systems maintainer after being assigned to the Combat Logistics Battalion 24.
In early 2021, Gee was deployed with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, and a few months later, she was promoted to sergeant.
She was completing a humanitarian mission in Afghanistan, where she helped to evacuate more than 100,000 people. Gee and 12 other military personnel were killed while helping Afghans flee at the Hamid Karzai International Airport during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan after the Taliban had regained control of the country.
Gee received multiple service medals, including the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal and National Defense Service Medal.
Trump was criticized for his choice of pose not only at Gee’s grave but also at that of Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Darin “Taylor” Hoover.
Following the criticism, the former president released a statement from members of Gee’s and Hoover’s families thanking him for attending the memorial.
