A Sister's Fight: Honoring the Memory of a Marine by Tori Manning

In this heartfelt conversation, Tori Manning shares her personal story of loss and remembrance for her brother, Staff Sergeant Taylor Hoover, who was killed during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Tori recounts Taylor's journey from a loving brother and father figure to a dedicated Marine, detailing his deployments and the tragic day of the attack at Kabul airport. The discussion highlights the emotional toll of grief, the quest for accountability regarding military leadership decisions, and the importance of honoring Taylor's legacy through community efforts and the establishment of a foundation. Tori also reflects on the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony and the ongoing fight for justice and recognition for the fallen service members.

Follow the below link to the "SSGT Darin “Taylor” Hoover" memorial page where you can buy his memorial coins and other merch along with donating for support:

https://www.taylorhoovermemorial.org/

For more information on the Afghan Withdrawal follow the link below:

https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/WILLFULL-BLINDNESS-An-Assessment-of-the-Biden-Harris%20Administrations-Withdrawal-from-Afghanistan-and-the-Chaos-that-Followed.pdf

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Transcript

Devan Daniels (00:01.387)
Welcome back, guys. Today's very special episode. Today I have Tori Manning with me. Tori, how are you? Good. How are you? I'm doing well. To start out, tell the folks a little bit about yourself, who you are and... Well, I'm Tori Manning. I am the little sister, one of the little sisters of Staff Sergeant Taylor Hoover, who was killed in Afghanistan during the disastrous withdrawal back in 2021.

Got to be a hard thing. I couldn't imagine what you guys have went through, what you're going through. My heart's out to you. I know the whole country's hearts are out to you guys and thank you for his sacrifice. We thank him. don't think there'll never be enough done to honor those who have served and lost their life. We got you on here today. We're going to talk a little bit about Taylor. We're going to let you tell a story, try to bring some memory and some honor to him and just

allow people to see what happened and who it really affected. OK. know, this there's people behind in those uniforms. And I think that story deserves to be told. Yes. So I'm just going to hand it over to you right now. You just wherever you want to start and we'll go from there. Well, I guess I'll start with. And, know, we were me, my brother, my sister, we're.

My brother was born in Memphis, Tennessee, but we were raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, or Sandy, Utah, just outside of Salt Lake. Grew up there, went to high school, all that there. He was a football, he played football. I remember like fondest memories of him were playing football. That was my favorite thing to go watch him play. And he was, he was good at it too. And then,

he joined the Marine Corps straight out of high school or not straight out of high school. He agreed with my mom that, you know, he'd wait a couple of years and, know, either get a job, go to college, do something, and then he could decide. So he agreed, but it was always the Marine Corps that was just, he wanted to serve ever since the nine 11. Like it's just always been his thing to serve. and he's always had that.

Devan Daniels (02:22.291)
You know, that leader aspect of him or like, you know, his guys will quote having it like a father figure and, he really was, he's always been that way. You know, he was my father figure growing up and as well as my sister's, I mean, just, all around that guy. Sorry. I get choked up a little bit, but if you need tissue, just let us know. Okay. All right. but yeah, so.

Couple years out of high school, he joined Marine Corps and I remember it was so, it was awesome. It was an awesome feeling, but it was scary for us. And I remember when he left for bootcamp, just like crying in his room, I would go down to his room and just cry. And I know this is really weird, but I like sniff his clothes, you know? like, just, it was terrible. Cause I mean, like I said, he was my father figure. So, you know, I never.

was never not around him or, you know, doing something with him. was the kid that always bugged my brother. had to go with him with his friends to hang out and all that. well, sister looks up to the big brother. That's right. That's right. And he's always, you know, he's always been very, very protective of me and my sister. And, and he carried that with him throughout his career too. And, but yeah, I joined the Marine Corps, 2010. I remember.

going to his bootcamp graduation and that was awesome. I don't know if you've been to a bootcamp graduation. I've only been to the Marine Corps one, so that's why I'm kind of biased. But it was awesome. Just the feeling that you'd get when you're there, just how regimented these guys are. Discipline. Yeah, discipline. You can't really put words unless you see it. Yes. How patriotic in that moment it feels to be an American. Right. Right. And it's just like...

You feel so safe too. It's like the safest place in the world right there on that parade deck, know? And, but yeah, he graduated bootcamp and, Is the Marine something he talked about doing from, a young age? He wanted to be the best of the best. So it always had to be, you know? Yeah. Yes. Yes. but yeah, graduation. then, he went to, he got stationed in,

Devan Daniels (04:47.467)
29 Palms, California, you know, just straight Mojave Desert. he, it was like a love -hate relationship. He got like the best training that he could there, but he hated it. But I do remember, we have some fond memories because we were still living in Utah all the time. So from there, from where we lived, driving to there, it only like an eight hour drive. So it wasn't terrible. And...

I remember I was running this, I think it was like a Chrysler 300 or something. And, we went down to, if you've ever driven down there, like it's that those roads are terrible. And, I remember he, we got down there and he wanted to drive cause he hadn't for a long time in training. Yeah. And so, you know, he's going down these back roads. Luckily that's like the desert. Nobody's out there. And he was going like,

probably 80 or 90 miles an hour. And he was going up off these, you know, these, these bumps and we're just flying straight off of them. And it was like the happiest we've ever been. And it was awesome. Like just all of us in the car and him just having the time of his life. Getting that little bit of freedom back after being locked up for so long. Yes. And, after that he got deployed his first time to Afghanistan.

with third battalions and with Marines. And he was with some pretty good guys. mean, those were like the Iraq fits and all that. So he had some really, really good training. And I don't know, he, I mean, it was scary for us at that time, of course, obviously. But, you know, he tried to call as much as he could. And what year was this? This was, had to be.

11 into 12. So pretty soon after he got out of bootcamp, he was deployed. Yeah. was pretty quick. rough time over in Afghanistan at that time. And, it was kind of crazy too, but my husband served with him at the same time in Afghanistan. It was like two miles apart from each other. Thomas. Yes. And, anyways, so he went there, and he,

Devan Daniels (07:11.517)
He loved it. mean, he was like the point man on everything. He volunteered, of course, for everything. Every time they had to go scout something out, was, it was my brother that had to go in and, you know, do it. That's just, well, it takes a special kind of person anyway, you know, and from what it sounds like, he's a strong leader, you know, very self -sacrificial, you know, would, would rather be the one on the front line. yeah, very much so. Than his brothers, you know, and something you just, you can't teach, you know, it's in your blood.

Right. mean, you know, I guess I didn't really say this, but, know, you only meet genuine people, you know, so much in your life. And once you meet them, you know, you feel that. And my brother is one of those, you know, and and I'm not just saying that because I'm his sister. Like I just he was very genuine, just loving, just good guy, you know. And but anyways, he was in Afghanistan.

Like I said, Point Man, you know, the crazy one. His first tour was at what, nine months? It was about nine months. Yeah. Marines usually only do about nine. OK. Nine or ten. They don't do the full twelve. Yeah. Well, I think they've kind of went away from the full twelve anyway. think so. Yeah, that's yeah, that's a lot. But I remember, too, he.

He put me in charge of, you know, cause Facebook was coming out at that time. It was a big thing. was, but he put me in charge of all of his Facebook messages and all that. And he was, you know, he didn't want to see anything negative back home. He didn't want to hear about it. Like if something was going on with me at home, like something dramatic, of course he did. He didn't want to, you know, he didn't want to hear about it while he was over there, which I don't blame him. know, he's singing. Yeah. Yeah. And so he wanted me to kind of.

monitor his Facebook and all that. So I did. But he came back and that was awesome. And he just, he came back and just totally, you know, not a totally different person, like you could tell. human who's experienced some stuff. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. But he was the type though that could really, I don't know what the word is and I'll turn it off.

Devan Daniels (09:33.609)
not turn it off, but you know, he could just kind of push it down when needed. Yeah. Yeah. And so, I mean, he was pretty good about that. didn't. He tried to not let it affect him as much. But but I remember, too, and we went to go pick him up. We went to San Diego and we stayed in these this hotel. It used to be like apartments on the beach and they turned it into a hotel and it was it was so much fun. And I remember, too, he.

took his camis and his boots and everything off in this hotel. And, know, he'd been in those for nine months and my gosh, the smell that came off of that stuff. was like, my gosh, it's like feeling the whole room. Like it was disgusting.

And I was like, you need to go burn that stuff. He ended up burning it because it was so bad. Had some salty fatigue. Yes. I was like, golly man. And I was like, are your feet falling off rotten off at this point? Gosh. the socks off and they just stand. I was like, golly. I gave him crap for that for a long time. As you should. Yeah. It was, it was bad. But, no, it was, you know, and that was, that's a lot of my fondest memories, you know, when we.

Whenever me and my sister, because I was still in high school and my sister, she would have been in middle school. every time, know, mom was like, okay, where are you going to go on vacation? And it'd be like, California. I want go see Bubba. His nickname is Bubba, by the way. If I called him Taylor, it was a big deal. He was going to beat me up. So it's Bubba. It's Bubba. Yes. And, you know, that's all we wanted to do is to go see him. And, you know, now it's kind of hard. don't, I don't.

think I can never go back to California because of it. But but that was him. You know, everything we did was in California and. It's a hard subject to talk about, and I'm sure it is for you, fast forward a little bit. How many how many tours has he done before this last one? So he did a total of three to Afghanistan. So that was his third one in Afghanistan, but he did two Mews in between there. OK, so.

Devan Daniels (11:45.915)
in the months prior to this last deployment, did they give him a notice or was it kind of like you're going or how did, how did you guys know that he was getting ready to go back over? So what actually happened was his, I can't remember if they were actually sent to Saudi Arabia or like his whole battalion. I can't remember the exact where they were supposed to be.

But I know that his platoon or his, so he was in second battalion, first Marines echo company. And, he was a staff sergeant. So he was in charge of a platoon and, his guys out of all of them got chosen to be on a boat out in the ocean.

Not quite sure exactly what happened out there. know there was a few. They just had to go on a boat. Yeah. There was a few ordeals out there, but basically just kind of being out there being security kind of while the rest of the battalion, I think was stationed in Saudi Arabia. but, he was out in the ocean and he, think it was July is when they got word that they were going to go help.

in Afghanistan. that wasn't like the initial you're going to Afghanistan. That wasn't it. They were going, I think, just stationed out there. So they were already somewhere and then they got where, you guys are going to come over here. You're to help with it at this time, July. That's pretty close to when they're starting to plan this withdrawal. And right. OK. Yes. In the in the coming weeks and stuff, did you hear from him before he went? I sometimes they keep that pretty. Yeah, no, he was and I.

I now, nowadays, it's not as bad like when he first deployed, you know, his first time in Afghanistan. Yeah. Yeah. You know, he was able to talk to us a little bit more and I do remember FaceTime and him while he was on the boat and all that. Sorry, I'm rolling away. No, no, you're fine. You also got some water there if you need it. Thank you. You're welcome. But yeah, he FaceTimed us a couple of times and but no, we could.

Devan Daniels (14:01.203)
I could message him. Facebook messaged him and stuff all the time. so you kept in contact. Yeah. July comes and they go to Afghanistan. Whenever he gets there, where were you and talks with him about how, the, was it over there? So he, that is the time he didn't have a lot of time and yeah, service. Cause they had, what's that thing that blocks his signals and all that.

radio box. Yeah. That blocks all that. But when he could, he tried to get word out. But I do remember him messaging mom and saying, mom, this is like the worst I've ever seen it. Like I've never seen basically humanity like this. And he also said, you know, I now know that our upper command cares nothing about us. You know, so.

But yeah, he could get word out every now and then. Okay. Good. leading up to the, to the days of the attack on the, on the base. that was in Kabul, right? It was the airport, Kabul airport. kind of take us through what you know about what went down that day, if you don't mind. so, I do know at the time, you know, an, an attack was imminent. They, they,

I mean, it's the Taliban. And they knew they saw our weak point. Yeah, we were pulling out and they had the higher ground. They were attacking us. Right. Basically. So I know that my the guys on the ground, they knew and they got word that IED was coming. Didn't know when, but it was coming. So I it was golf company of two one.

Golf company was manning the gate at the time. guess they kind of switched out. Company switched out just manning the gates and a golf company was out there at the time. And my brother, his guys were, I wish I could show you a map, but his, so I don't know if you've seen it. There's like a sniper tower here and then you've got the canal here. So golf company was standing here, you know, manning the gate.

Devan Daniels (16:14.999)
And my brother was kind of back over here. And he came out to see where he could help and all that. he and this is told by Tyler Andrews. I don't know if you've heard of him. So he's one of the wounded that actually survived. He's now a double amputee. He was actually like really close to my brother at the time of the bombing.

Anyway, so my brother notices somebody in the crowd, a man with holding up a sign saying something about one of the guys on the sniper teams. And so my brother, you know, comes back over and goes up to the snipers and was like, hey, you you got, are you guys looking for this guy? and he, it was Tyler.

Tyler Andrews is one of the snipers and he was like, yeah, yeah, I'll come down. I'll help you pull him out. So my brother goes back out there and they go to pull this interpreter out. You know, he's worked with, I guess the interpreters worked with our, our guys for a long time. And they were the first ones on the hit list for the Taliban. Right. Yeah. And so I guess they pull this guy out and he was like, well, wait, you know, or

My brother and Tyler were like, okay, well, let's get you out of here. But the guy was like, well, wait, my family. And they were like, well, where's your family? And there's thousands of people on this canal. There's just no way. he's like, they're back there. And I don't remember how far Tyler said back, but pretty far. There was no way they were getting them out. And I guess at this point, I don't know if my brother had walked away.

I don't know, I'm not quite sure where he ended up, but that's when the bomb went off. And they say that this guy, so like I said, there's, you you've got the Marine standing here and there's like kind of like a wall in between the canal and all that. And then there's a wall on the other side. they say that this guy, ISIS, stepped up on that wall and blasted it that way.

Devan Daniels (18:36.523)
They say it was like 20, 30 pounds. But it was ball bearings that in trap. My brother got hit obviously with a lot of them, but he did not pass away right away. I guess, and this is just secondhand information. This is just, know, my dad had talked to Tyler and Tyler said that, you know, he saw my brother.

tying a tourniquet to his own leg. And then I also get from his lieutenant that, you know, he was like, he didn't look on the outside. He didn't look like he was all that wounded at all compared to like a lot of them. But his lieutenant said, you know, Hoover, you good, you good. And, you know, my brother winked at him. He's like,

Okay, good to go, you know? And at the time too, they'll say that this didn't happen, but there was gunfire going off as well. Taliban's shooting. And my brother hears that, obviously, and he starts taking his ammo off his vest and starts handing them out to his guys.

I guess at that point is when they're loading him onto the truck and they say that they think the pressure of the blast is what got to him. And obviously bleeding too, internal bleeding that they can't, you I know they like inserted a chest tube, couldn't really get his lung to inflate back up. But they also, like I said, it was his brain really, the pressure of the blast is what.

got to him the way that he was acting, just kind of out of his head and stuff. And I guess on the way, they had like makeshift hospitals on the airport, and I guess on the way there, they actually got him back twice, but he didn't make it.

Devan Daniels (20:51.817)
I'm so sorry.

Devan Daniels (20:57.38)
You know, this whole the whole Afghan withdrawal, it should have been done different. You know, very much so. There's no question that, you know, America wanted out of that war. But the way it did it and the people it affected is why sometimes they need to understand that there is a human inside that uniform. When did you guys first get word of of Taylor? So.

Can I kind of tell like my story of that day? So I remember waking up that morning, you know, first thing you do, Facebook, TikTok, whatever, you know, it's everywhere on Facebook and I'm like, man, what the crap. So you were seeing on Facebook? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Cause the time difference obviously. And, you know, so I sent him a message and I said, you know, and him being a staff sergeant, you know, I knew like,

You know, he's in charge of guys. So his response time may not be very quick because he's got to handle things, you know? And so I messaged him and I said, you know, just tell me yes or no. Are you okay? Yes or no? That's all I need. You know, obviously that never came, but during the day, you know, I just tried to push it aside and I just like tried to just go about my day. Although it just something deep down was like something right, you know?

Cause usually if something big happened over there, he would try to get word out or, somehow. And, but, I just went about my day and you know, mom's freaking out of course. know, I'm telling Thomas, I'm like, you know, is there any way you can figure it out? You know, cause he's, he's got some guys over there that he knows and he's like, I'll try, you know, you know, I'll try to get word. but he's like, no news is good news, know.

And anyway, so we just went about our day and I remember I had to work that night. And so I went to go take a nap and I remember I had a dream and I'm a very we're very religious, very spiritual. I had a dream and my it's really weird. My our grandmother that had passed two years prior came to me in that dream. I couldn't see her, couldn't hear her. I just.

Devan Daniels (23:23.231)
felt her, I knew it was her. And like all of a sudden my brother like walked in the room with her. was the strangest thing. You know, and I woke up, you know, screaming like, cause I knew then. your heart you knew what would I knew what would happen. Cause why would I do something like that? That's just, you know. That's not coincidence. Yeah. Yeah. And, but you know, I, cause mom lives with us and

I had to put on a face for her, you know, and cause that was me and my brother's deal of anything happened to him, know, you know, it's my job. It's my turn to take over, you know, with the family and, and, but yeah, I like put on a face all that, that day, the rest of the day. And I went to work and just kept pushing it aside. I didn't want to, I didn't want to talk about it, but you know, you get to

It's on the news when you get towards, know, it's, you know, I've got people talking about it. I'm like, dang it. You know, and I, I worked, yeah, I worked in the ER at the time and, you know, towards the end of the night, I think it was like eight or nine o 'clock, 10 o 'clock that night. And the lady up at our front desk was like, I need you to come outside. And I was like, okay, that's weird.

So we go out like the ambulance bay doors and there's Thomas and he's like beat red and he looks just defeated. Defeated and he's bawling his eyes out. If you know him, he don't cry for no reason. And I just like, I knew, I dropped him on my knees, I screamed, was hitting stuff. I'm sure everybody at that ER thought I was freaking crazy. And then it didn't, this poor.

Chaplain he came with my husband to pick me up He stepped out of the truck and it just all hit me. It just you know but but yeah, I think it was like nine or ten that night is when we found out because I Think they were going by rank. I think you know, he was a staff sergeant So I think they told mom first and then it went but the thing is We had just moved

Devan Daniels (25:47.563)
from Arkansas up to here. so I think they had to like find where my mom was. Gotcha. It wasn't on file. Yeah. So you guys learned about that while you guys were living here in Missouri? Yeah. so, but I, you know, we learned that all the other families didn't find out till a little later in the evening. So I'm assuming they went by rank and they were waiting to find, you know, mom. So there were 13 killed that day.

13. Yeah, we got 11 Marines, one corpsman and one army soldier. That's, well, I don't know. That's a lot. I can't imagine what you guys are going through, what you guys have went through. I mean, what you always go through, you know? And, you know, I know the nation thinks you, I mean, but those, words are just words, you know? I mean, people say it, but you know, it doesn't bring them back. Right.

What do you think about just everything that happened in that time frame with the Afghan withdrawal? What are what are your thoughts as as one affected by it? So I mean, a lot of it is I mean, it's anger. But also, like I said, we're religious, we're spiritual. And I know there's reasons to everything, even though at times, even though at times I really want to like, why, you know, that

You know, I don't, had it been any of my brother's guys, it wouldn't, he wouldn't have been okay, you know? And had he lived and he wouldn't have been. He's one of those guys that wanted to be out there. Yeah. He wanted it to be him instead of his. Right. And he, you know, and he was one of the last ones with combat experience. So they were all like looking to him, you know, for answers and stuff.

higher ups weren't listening, nothing, you know? I don't know, a lot of it is anger, a lot of it is...

Devan Daniels (27:56.127)
I don't know, guess just anger and it's sad that my kids don't.

can't grow up with their uncle, you know, and he loved, you know, I had my daughter and he was close with her and he was the first person to put her in the ocean and, you know, put her feet in the sand and, you know, my real close -knit family. Yeah. And my, and my daughter will always remember that, but it's like, you know, our other kids aren't going to have that. They'll just have the stories. Yeah. So after this disastrous day.

everything transpires. find out, what kind of comes next after that? Does the Marines reach out to you? So, in a situation like that, each family gets assigned what they call a Kaco. I don't know what the abbreviations. but each family gets assigned a Kaco. So basically they're like a liaison between the families and the military.

And basically whatever the military says at that point, like you have to go, you know, I remember we had to go to Dover Air Force Base and I mean, we kind of had to drop everything and just go because that's where their bodies were returning. But yeah, they got us a private jet that flew into Mountain View and flew us out of there.

I mean, before, before this, was like two days after we found out that we went to Dover, but, our family that's down in Arkansas, they all drove up and pretty much just stayed the whole time until we left. And I mean, we, we did, I don't remember sleeping like at all. I don't even remember eating to be honest. don't even, everything is a blur, you know? but we went to, went to Dover.

Devan Daniels (29:59.477)
You know, how the had the meeting with the president president. But I mean, our family didn't meet with him just because. How was that? Like I said, we didn't we didn't meet with him just because obviously we we blame him. And. And. Rightfully so. Yeah. And rightfully so. Yeah. We'd we'd probably be in prison right now because, know, anyways. I understand. mean, that.

We made the Caicos. The Caicos were like our Caicos were pretty good. They kind of went above and beyond anything that, you know, mom asked of them or dad asked of them. Like it got done. How was it received when you said, no, we don't want to meet with. I mean, the Caicos agreed with us because, know, yeah, of course they agree. I mean, they're still in the military. The military agrees. Yeah. Yeah. But.

We, put us in a separate room. Did they? Yeah. And so, you know, and Thomas being military, my brother -in -law's military, like we, not the best idea to put us out there with the rest of the families just because, you know, I don't know what their political views are. Don't really care, but I didn't, you know, we didn't want to be around it. So, yeah.

That day was crazy. As commander in chief it all falls on you. And if we don't have competent people running, know, the blame goes directly on him. And it wasn't, you know, it wasn't just him. was like the generals. mean, it was his cabinet. Yeah. We wanted nothing to do with it. Absolutely nothing. And, you know, and I remember at the time because Thomas got us in contact with

one of his buddies that had died in Afghanistan. He stayed in touch with his mom, his family and all that. She kind of talked to us and told us what she regretted, not doing in the beginning with her son and all that. I remember, I think it was her, I'm pretty sure it her, just her saying, take it all in, let it hurt, it's gotta hurt. You just gotta let all the feelings flow.

Devan Daniels (32:19.807)
something like that. you don't, you'll implode. Right. And she's just like, let it go. Like, just do it. You know, it doesn't matter how it comes out. Just let it, you know. And, but yeah, that was actually very helpful. Now that I look back on it, that she, that was actually very helpful. but yeah, yeah, that was a crappy day. And then you go out on the tarmac as their bodies are being transferred from the plane to these veins.

And of course, you know, they go by rank and all that. My brother and Staff Sergeant Ryan Knauss, the Army soldier. They come out first and a few more. then, you know, you see Biden across the tarmac staring at his watch. Not just once. You're kidding me. Not twice.

Not three times. It had to be four or five times. Like he had something better to be. Yeah. Like he had somewhere to be. And I, I was furious. My husband and my brother -in -law are both standing at attention saluting and they're just bawling their eyes out. And they're like, am I allowed to cuss on this? And they're like, you son of a bitch. And like, you can see their, like their fist balling up. Like they were ready to go, you know, and.

And I was like, you know, I'm one of those that it's hard for me to control. Yeah. You know, once I get to that point and, you know, we waited till all the bodies were across and they were driving off and Biden and them start walking to their vehicles. And that's when I yelled out, I hope you burn in hell. And I went to run across the tarmac and yeah.

But my family sought me, of course, there's snipers everywhere. Good thing they did. Yeah. I mean, but good for you for standing up. Yeah. And I'm sure you're pissed. yeah. And then to see him over there looked as much as to bring your brother. Yeah. You know, couldn't imagine. was disgusting. Yeah. I mean, I was like, how little respect do you have to have? I was like, you know, I've never respected Biden. But in that moment, I was like, we see.

Devan Daniels (34:46.011)
How I was like dumbfounded. I'm like, what? You know, God, was to this day. It makes me sick. I can't imagine. Yeah, it's terrible. Terrible. So all this transpires. then recently you guys got invited to Washington, D .C. I'm going to butcher it. What medal was it? The Congressional Gold Medal, the Congressional Gold Medal. Would you like to?

a little bit about that. Yeah, it was actually awesome because, for three years we've been trying to get accountability for what happened over there and, you know, nothing's really come of that. So before we start on the congressional accountability, where what do you think in your opinion needs to be done? Where do they need to start for this accountability? They need to hear it from from you guys. yeah, for sure.

Biden and Harris for first and foremost, the generals, Milley, Austin and McKinsey. A lot of higher ups in the military that have all been promoted at this time, just so we all are aware. Promoted. Yeah, promoted. And these are people that are still in charge of

our sons and daughters of America. Yeah.

But no, like there's a lot of parts that played into it, obviously. We should start at the embassy. They let the embassy go. I mean, there's a lot that goes into it. First and foremost, everybody blames Trump for it. And no, he had the Doha agreement signed between him and the Taliban. And it was a conditional.

Devan Daniels (36:47.967)
You know, you, you do this, this and this, you know, we'll pull out. Yeah. But they didn't meet any of those requirements. It was a work in progress. Yeah. You know, they can't just do it all in one day. No, no, no. Like it. And the Taliban didn't meet any of those requirements, you know, and, and to Biden, it was, you know, he had a set day that he wanted it all done. Yeah. You know, and at that time they knew now that the there's some investigations that have come, come out.

They knew down to the exact time that the bomber was going to be out there. And did nothing about it. And did nothing about it. Like, why was the gate not closed? Yeah, they should have had it cordoned off. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. And they, you know, they'll say, you know, we're there waiting on the British. No. Like the British even said, you know, you can close the gate. You know, we'll come back in. Yeah. Like, I'm just dumbfounded at it. You know, I don't.

Well, somebody's got to pay for it. Amen. You know, I don't don't get it. Something so tragic as this there, there needs to be true accountability. Right. One thing in the military that is always stressed is accountability for your actions. If that doesn't happen at the top, because, know, any of us who were in the military, if you if you did something wrong, you were held accountable for that. So why why do the higher ups? Why do the ones that do control the stuff? Why are they held to the different standards? Right. Yeah, I don't. It needs to be changed. Yeah, I don't get it.

I don't get it. And the boots on the ground actually doing doing the work, risking their lives, suffer for it. Yes. I don't get it. Me neither. So you go to DC. When was it? that's two weeks ago. Two weeks ago. Kind of runs through what happened there and when it was and what was going on the same time. OK. So.

The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest award that Congress can give a civilian. So all 13 were given the Congressional Gold Medal. We're invited to the Capitol. And it's actually a neat experience. And it's nice coming together with the 13 families, even if there are differing opinions on things.

Devan Daniels (39:14.767)
But we've all become one big family, you know, because, yeah, you have a shared experience, right? Right. And we're all fighting for accountability, you know? And that, no, it was actually a really, really good experience. And, it was actually pretty neat. Like I didn't know that we still prayed in the Capitol. didn't know. Yeah. was fairly surprised, you know, even if it was a weird prayer, but it was, it was.

It was a government press. Yeah. mean, it was still, you know, it was nice. And, you know, I may not agree with some of the politicians that were there, but it was nice. then, least they showed up. I mean, right. Speaker Johnson, actually apologized in front of the nation and said, we owe them everything. We owe your family's everything. And that was like the first time.

Anybody's really acknowledged in government. So that's about the first apology. Yeah, you guys have actually yeah Yeah, granted he you know, I don't know how much he had to do with it But but at least someone recognized right, right that can go Yeah, it was it was that was really that really got to me. That was awesome but no, it was a it was a good experience and It was a good ceremony If you watch it, you'll see my mom skip

shaking Chuck Schumer's hand. Good. I'm going to give her a round of applause right now. didn't even know she did it until after. was like, good for you. Yes. But, no, it was a neat experience. And then, you know, some of my brother's buddies were there. Tyler was there and, Mitchell Seeless, who's become like a little brother to me. And, you know, they've, they've stayed really close to us and it's been, it's, it's awesome.

So within that group of the 13 other families, you guys, you guys stay connected pretty good. And for the most part, you know, there's there's a couple that cause a little drama, but it's OK. You know, I'd still defend them against anybody. But yeah, for the most part, there's actually some of the families like my parents and some of the other parents have formed like a coalition. What's this coalition? So they.

Devan Daniels (41:38.559)
Basically, I've gone to government, gone to press conferences, trying to get accountability, trying to do what they can. They're good friends with Trump. so, you know, it's, it's, it's been awesome. And it's been opening doors for has a

Has president Trump, has he spoken to the families? Like what, what are his opinions on what happened or what's he said to you guys? So when it first happened, we actually received a phone call from him. and he talked to every single person in my family. So me, my sister, her husband, my husband, mom, of course, dad, like was just very genuine. I don't know if you've ever met him, but this man, like.

You have a conversation. He's just a genuine person laid back down to earth. Someone you can actually hold a conversation with. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's rare in politics. Right. Yeah. But no, he he has told the parents of the coalition, you know, if I get back in, there will be accountability and, know, and we're holding him to that. Yeah. You know, there's people need to be fired. Exactly. Pensions need to be taken away.

Have they done any congressional investigations into it? No, they're just sweeping it under the rug. Afghanistan is like the one thing. They don't touch with it. They do not touch. They will dodge it. don't know if you've, know, during the debate, saw Harris, she just kind of... Yeah, just skirted away from the questions. I'm kind of switching here, but didn't the congressional medal when that aired, that was the night of the debate, correct? It was, yes. Do you think they did that to try to overshadow it for the simple fact that it...

It does fall on Kamala Harris. Right. as much as Biden. To be honest, I'm sure there's always a political pull and everything. I also think, too, that, you know, Trump would have been at the ceremony. I do, too. And I think they did not want him there. And so I'm sure I'm sure there was a plan for all that. What's your what's the coalition called? The Abbey Gate Coalition. The Abbey Gate. A -B -B -Y -G -A -T -E. A -B -B -E -Y.

Devan Daniels (43:56.893)
Abbey Gate coalition. they got, is this a, do they have like a website or something where people can donate? No, they don't. wish they can't, they just have a, they have like a, his name is Marlon. I'm not quite sure what his job is politically. I think he's a lobbyist kind of, but he's kind of been like the liaison between the families and the government.

but he gets funds. He's, he's out of Salt Lake cause that's where, obviously we were raised. My dad's still there. so my dad got ahold of the attorney general of Utah cause nothing was being done. And, the attorney general of Utah got him in touch with Marlin and Marlin was a Marine as well. And he kind of opened the doors to, for the families to get to.

talk to people on government and all that. that's good. Are you pretty confident that if, and I'm trying, I'm trying to keep this as apolitical as possible, especially for something like this, but are you confident that if, if Donald Trump wins that he's actually going to hold the accountability? yeah. I do too. Very much so. Very much so because I know that from what he's said to us that, I mean, it pissed him off. I mean, it shook the whole world. It wasn't just the nation. Like,

Everybody was watching this it was a number it was another night at 11 like you remember where you were yeah exactly like everybody knows this I mean all and even our enemy countries were watching this you know watching us fall and But yeah, no, I'm fairly confident that he will hold people responsible and I hope it happens. I do too and I'm you know

And I'm using the figure of speech, but I hope heads roll. Yes, not like literally but no, agree. I agree People need to lose their jobs. People need to lose their pensions. Yeah, they need to be drummed out of the government. Yes, plain and simple drummed out tear their sleeves like the traders they are That's just my opinion. No, I am right there with anytime one of my brothers die for a cause, you know and then get and there's just

Devan Daniels (46:11.657)
because of lack of oversight, because like you said, they knew about it. They could have warned them that that pisses me off. I'm sure it pisses everyone off, but you've never heard that. They won't tell you that on the news. You know, they they got their talking points that they stick to. They don't want Americans to know the dirty truth of what's going on. No. And it's sad. It's really sad. Sorry about that. I kind of got off on little. No, you're fine. It's all good. I like, you know, some people are like, you know, I don't really want to bring it up with you, but.

No, I talk about it all the time. This is important. Yeah, we have to. If if we don't bring attention to this, if we don't try to show people the truth about it, then the more people that know, the more accountability there will be. Right. You know, and people need to know the truth about what happened and the families that affected. Right. You know, because like I said, you have to you have to realize there is a human in that uniform. You know, I go I always go back to a quote that I heard that, know, whenever a

A truck full of soldiers get blown up. No one loses. No one bats an eye because it's part of the plan, you know, but. Sitting here talking about it, knowing it affected another American family, it puts it in a different perspective that really hits home with people and they can understand. You know, right. Right. What are some things you guys have been doing to honor Staff Sergeant Taylor? You're good. So we actually have the Staff Sergeant Darren Taylor Hoover Memorial.

Foundation. do a 5K every year in Arkansas. Yes. And we raise money for scholarships and for service dogs. Our first service dog actually came out of West Plains. Really? Yeah. And went to Tyler Andrews. Like I said, he was probably the last person that talked to my brother while he was alive. And so.

That was the least we could do for him. Let's give him a dog. He loves that dog. Currently have two dogs in training for vets. One's a Vietnam vet and the other one is my brother's best friend growing up. It's her husband. He was a Marine. So yeah, we do that. And we here in Missouri last year, my husband put on a shoot that raised a good amount of money.

Devan Daniels (48:36.895)
thinking about putting on a car show as well. So when he does, I have to come on and promote it that way. I know. Yeah, for sure. For sure. Yeah, that's that's what we do. then, you know, I'm always on social media sharing about him, sharing stories about him. Where can they find you? Just Tori Manning. OK. Yeah. Yeah. Facebook, social media, Instagram. I can't remember what my name is on there, but it's linked to my Facebook.

yeah, that's the only reason I keep social media for my brother. If it weren't for him, I'd be off of it. Yeah. It's turned into quite the thing. It's overwhelming. yeah. But you know, it's the benefit of it is in today's day and age, you are able to tell your story to millions of people for the simple fact that you can go onto that platform and share it people see it, you know, and that

It is a beautiful thing that's come out of it with all the bad that's come out of it. That is a good thing. You know, you know, used to back in like even the nineties, the only time people would hear from you is if a newspaper or, you know, would come up to you and give you the opportunity. It's did we live that way? Yeah. It's a different world. Yeah. And I remember just from when we were kids, how

different the world was like we didn't grow up with it. I had a flip phone until I went into the military at 20. I like the little sliding chocolate bar phone. those were were the those are the thing. You had the whole type thing. Another thing you guys are doing is you've got some coin maids that you have for sale, right?

Devan Daniels (50:15.7)
This is so it's my brother's coin. actually pretty much. a beautiful coin. I pretty much designed the whole thing. So on the back, my brother was very into Viking. Yeah. Yeah. Most military guys are. But he was like really into it. Would always draw symbols like on his notebooks and stuff. But we got one of his notebooks back.

from his like in his stuff and his pack and it had this Viking compass on it. And it basically like represents like never getting lost or whatnot. But also he wrote it because there was another and I know why he wrote it was because it represented like invincibility. my brother

You know, I did always think he was invincible, but obviously we're all human. So, but yeah, and then it's got his, his motto is movement is life. And then it's got his picture on here. And this picture here actually was taken on the boat before he went to Afghanistan. And then you got the Ravens here down at the bottom. Yeah, it's.

Pretty neat. And it's a heavy coin. It is really heavy. It's awesome. It's a thing of beauty. Yeah. Yeah. It's definitely him for sure. If someone wanted to get one, where would they be able to get it? Yeah. You go to the Staff Sergeant Darren Taylor Hoover Memorial .org. It's got his story on there, but it's also got, we've got shirts, hats, coins. And I think dog tags as well on there. yeah.

Well, Tori, thank you so much for coming on and telling your story. If you ever want to come back on and talk about it some more, I would love to have you. I mean, I think this is something that people need to hear. People need to know the story. For sure. Before we wrap up, anything you want to say to the people, anything you want to tell them a message or what they can do to help with this accountability project? Actually, I'm glad you said that. You know,

Devan Daniels (52:37.223)
So the coalition meets with, I don't know if you know, Chairman McCall. He is the chairman of the House of Foreign Affairs. He has been leading the investigation. So CENTCOM did their investigation, was all BS, of course. And then McCall did his, like his group did theirs.

That just came out the day before the, gold medal was awarded. so the investigation's out. Yeah. So it's actually out. I believe it's on the house of foreign affairs .gov. I'll find it and I'll post a link in our, in our bio here. They can just click on it. Yeah. Now there is still some missing parts. There's a lot that they still need to investigate, but it'll tell you in there that they knew down to the minute.

that that guy was going to be there. I did nothing. Yeah, I did nothing. But, you know, read the report. You know, my parents said in the press conference, read the report. I mean, yeah, 300 pages long, but it's worth it. It's worth reading. You know, if if you have kids in the military, like you, you need to understand what they're fully getting into, you know, people that are in charge of their lives. Yeah. And, you know, this isn't like

back in the 90s, yeah, there was their problems then too. But this, you you've got cowards running the military right now. Our military is the weakest it's ever been. And we're seeing that from all the Geo wars getting popped off everywhere. Yeah. And that's scary. Yeah. And, know, and even the guys that are still in the military are like, holy crap, like, I don't, you know, I don't trust anything. And which they shouldn't. After Afghanistan, they.

How could you? You you bring up a good point. would like, before we wrap up, I would like to hit on this is, you your sons and daughters, they enlist, they go over there and they're fighting for a noble cause for America. You know, the sons of liberty, that's what they are. And after Afghanistan, anyone in the military right now is thinking, does my leadership have my back? You know, do they have my best interests at heart? And is my life safe in their hands?

Devan Daniels (54:57.119)
And that's a scary thing to wonder about leadership, especially in such an important job and task as the United States military. Right. I just wanted to put that out there. It's true. It is true. Very true. But now read the report. You have to fully understand what is going on in our government. And it's evil. It's corrupt. The rest of the world knows that.

Yeah, but our country doesn't seem to wake up to that. Some people like to put blinders on. Like everything's good. Yeah. I don't, I don't get it. But, but yeah, if, know, if you've got kids thinking about going into the military, definitely read that. I'm not, I'm not going to discourage anybody from going in the military. I was in the military. can't, you know, I can't, I'm not coming from that standpoint. I'm just coming from, you know, yeah, the outside are looking in, you know, my brother for the longest time said, you know, the

the Marine Corps has changed, you know? It's corporatized. Yes. You know, that's the thing about what I hear my buddy, I've got a few buddies that are still in and it's a corporation now. It's not the military. know, it's all about DEI, diversity, equity and inclusion. It's about making sure you don't say the wrong, you know, our military should be the one thing that is abstained from all that because we have the structure, you have the discipline and they are there to do a job. Exactly. You know, let's leave our military alone. Exactly. Exactly. And I just, yeah, like definitely look into that.

Read it. I mean, get a hold of your congressman. Push them to fight this. You know, we need all the backing that we can get because there's nothing. mean, nobody Kamala and Biden have. That's a blight on their their their terms. So they're obviously going to sweep it out the long because if they if they talk about it, then they admit to it. Right. By just giving it life. Right. Exactly. They're the ones responsible. Yeah, exactly. And they don't even mention their names.

That's got to be sickening. Yeah, it is. I mean, it's just disgusting. don't I mean. Yeah, it's it's it's hard to deal with sometimes. I understand. And it's it's too much. You know. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. For the courage, for the bravery, for just the strength to come on here and talk about it. I know it's got to be hard. And God bless you. God bless your family. Anything you guys need. You know, I'm there. I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way. You've got a big support group here.

Devan Daniels (57:20.571)
So anything you guys need, seriously reach out. Thank you. Appreciate that. Thank you. Guys, this has been the episode today. Please go to the link, help any way you can, get active, know, get in help with that coalition where you can call your congressman, call your Senate, call your state Senate. know, every, everything helps. The more backing they have on this, which is needed. It's an accountability project and you guys know how I feel about accountability. But thank you for coming on. God bless and cheers guys.

Devan Daniels (57:55.477)
Bye bye!