President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden were at Dover Air Force Base Sunday to attend the dignified transfer of the bodies of the 13 U.S. service members who lost their lives in Thursday’s bombing outside the Kabul airport.

The caskets carrying the bodies of 13 Americans — 11 Marines, 1 Army soldier and a Navy sailor — arrived at the Air Force base for the solemn occasion. Each was transferred one by one off the military transport that brought them back to the states, in near-complete silence, out of respect for the fallen.

Attending a dignified transfer is among the most important responsibilities for any American president to carry out.
Biden met for several hours with the families of the service members. After, he and Mrs. Biden stood and watched as the caskets were carried from the bay of a C-17 Globemaster cargo plane that had brought them from Afghanistan and onto gray mortuary vans.
It is the first time Biden has attended a dignified transfer since he took office seven months ago. This comes as he has ordered the withdrawal of all American troops from Afghanistan.

The 13 lives lost in Thursday’s terrorist attack are the first American service members killed in hostile action in Afghanistan since February of 2020.

CNN writes:

The Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations, responsible for the return of remains from military theaters overseas, specifies that the transfer is not a “ceremony” but rather “a solemn movement of the transfer case by a carry team composed of military personnel from the fallen member’s respective service.”