MACON, Ga. (AP) — A Marine who took the stage at a Georgia rally for former President Donald Trump was not among the service members shown lifting children over an airport wall in Afghanistan in a photo that began circulating in August, a spokesperson tells The Telegraph of Macon.
The newspaper reports that Kelton Cochran, a spokesperson for the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, said Lance Cpl. Hunter Clark was not in the picture showing multiple Marines lifting children over an airport wall in Kabul during an airlift after the U.S.-backed government fell to the Taliban. Cochran didn’t say whether Clark could have been in a different photo or video.
The Telegraph reports the Defense Department is investigating Clark’s attendance at the Trump rally to determine if any policies were violated. Active duty service members aren’t usually allowed to speak at partisan political events.
Trump called Clark to the stage during a speech on Sept. 26 in Perry, Georgia.
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“We’re also honored to be joined by one of the Marines who bravely served in Kabul during the withdrawal and helped evacuate children over the airport and over the airport wall,” the former president said.
Clark thanked the crowd.
“I am the guy that pulled the baby over the wall, and it’s definitely probably one of the greatest things I’ve ever done in my entire life,” Clark said at the rally.
Attendees cheered and chanted “U-S-A.”
“Perry, Georgia, did a good job … You grow them well in Perry, Georgia,” Trump said.
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