Jacksonville veterans reflect on Taliban takeover

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Afghanistan veteran Lee Jefferies says it’s been hard watching the Taliban take over Afghanistan.

“Well it was a waste of a lot of us soldiers’ lives to pull out like that. It makes you question what they fight for, we’re just going to leave it behind.”

The major shock — the fall of the president’s palace.

“To think that Kabul has fallen … that’s pretty significant. Kabul was safe.”

RELATED: Jacksonville refugee reflects on Afghanistan conflict

Vietnam veteran Francis Loving says he’s tired of seeing the U.S. take the same military action again.

“I don’t know why we continue to make the same mistake over and over and over again.”

Here in Jacksonville … they are worried about the veterans who gave so much in Afghanistan.

“They went there with the idea to serve their country and victoriously, well now they are not. So, they are going to spend the rest of their life not understanding why we did what we did,” Loving says.

Who are now watching their progress be wiped away. Jefferies says after watching the changes in Afghanistan over the last month … he knows if he had the choice, he’d sign up all over again. Because even a decade after leaving the service, he still cares.

LINK: Biden on Afghanistan: ‘There is never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces’

“There’s no simple answer to how we can finish this or there’s no right answer right now to how can we end this war. but I don’t think it starts with letting people down.”

©2021 Cox Media Group