Fact check: Photos show service members killed in 2017 plane crash, not Kabul attack
The claim: Images depict service members killed in a terrorist attack at the Kabul airport
Tributes spread across social media after 13 U.S. service members were killed in an Aug. 26 suicide bombing outside the Kabul airport in Afghanistan. But some of the tributes honored the wrong fallen troops.
An Aug. 27 post on Facebook shows photos of 16 men dressed in military apparel.
''13 doorbells rang today. 13 flags will be folded. 13 families will never be the same," the post with the collage of images says.''
USA TODAY found numerous copies of the image circulating on Facebook.
But the post doesn't show the victims of the recent ISIS-K attack. It shows service members who died in a 2017 plane crash in Mississippi.
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USA TODAY reached out to Facebook users who shared the post for comment.
Service members died in 2017 plane crash
The collage of images circulating online memorializes 15 Marines and one sailor who were killed in a 2017 plane crash.
On July 10, 2017, a Marine Corps Reserve KC-130 cargo plane crashed in LeFlore County, Mississippi. The troops were headed to California when the crash occurred.
Loren Thompson, a military analyst with the Lexington Institute and a defense industry consultant, told USA TODAY at the time that the aircraft was one of the safest and most versatile in military history.
Fact check:Post online lists service members killed in 2010, not Marines killed in Kabul
The photo collage appears to stem from a New York Times article covering the plane crash. Starting from the upper left-hand corner, here are the names of the deceased service members depicted in the collage, according to the Marine Corps:
- Maj. Caine M. Goyette
- Capt. Sean E. Elliott
- Gunnery Sgt. Mark A. Hopkins
- Gunnery Sgt. Brendan C. Johnson
- Staff Sgt. Joshua Snowden
- Sgt. Owen J. Lennon
- Sgt. Julian M. Kevianne
- Cpl. Daniel I. Baldassare
- Cpl. Collin J. Schaaff
- Staff Sgt. William Kundrat
- Staff Sgt. Robert H. Cox
- Sgt. Talon R. Leach
- Sgt. Chad E. Jenson
- Sgt. Joseph J. Murray
- Sgt. Dietrich A. Schmieman
- Petty Officer Second Class Ryan Lohrey
Our rating: False
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that images depict service members killed in a terrorist attack at the Kabul airport. While all the men depicted in the collage did serve in the military, most as Marines, they died in a 2017 plane crash in Mississippi.
Our fact-check sources:
- USA TODAY, July 11, 2017, Marine Corps plane crash kills 16, highlights training hazards
- U.S. Marine Corps, July 14, 2017, MARINES, SAILOR KILLED IN KC-130T CRASH IDENTIFIED
- U.S. Department of Defense, Aug. 14, 2009, Department of Defense (DoD) Personnel Casualty Matters, Policies, and Procedures
- Washington Post, Aug. 28, The 13 U.S. service members killed in the Kabul airport attack: What we know so far
- New York Times, July 13, 2017, Marine Corps Plane Crash: The 16 Victims
- U.S. Department of Defense, Aug. 28, DOD Identifies Marine Corps, Navy and Army Casualties
- USA TODAY, Aug. 26, Dire warnings, then explosions and US deaths: How a terror strike unfolded at Kabul airport
- USA TODAY, Aug. 29, Fact check: Post online lists service members killed in 2010, not Marines killed in Kabul
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