Lance Cpl. Hunter Clark was invited onto the stage to honor his efforts to rescue Afghan evacuees.
“We’re also honored to be joined by one of the Marines who bravely served in Kabul during the withdrawal,”Trump stated, “and helped evacuate children over … the airport wall. You saw him. He did a great job.”
Clark gave a short speech when he took to the mic.
“I’m the guy that pulled the baby over the wall. It’s probably one of the greatest things I’ve ever done in my life,”Clark spoke out in reference to the well-known images of a marine lifting a baby Afghan to safety during chaos at Kabul’s airport evacuation.
Clark was overwhelmed by the Trump crowd’s cheers and became emotional when he left the stage.
The Marine Corps now says Clark wasn’t the one in the viral image.
“Regarding the viral photo that began circulating around Aug. 20, 2021, the Marine identified in that particular image was not LCpl Clark,”Kelton Cochran, spokesperson for the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit said in a statement.
However, the Marines confirmed that Clark was definitely at the Kabul airport during the heroic evacuation efforts. Clark may have saved another child or it could be a misinterpretation.
Cochran said that there were several cases during the evacuation of Afghans where children were handed to U.S. soldiers.
Clark, even though he was not wearing uniform at the rally is under investigation for violating the military ban on active duty troops engaging partisan political activity.