From the moment you get that knock on the door to the moment you’re handed a folded American flag, Gold Star families face a lifetime shaped by loss. Last week we observed Gold Star Spouses Day on April 5. April is also the Month of the Military Child. I invite you to reflect on the sacrifices of our military families, especially those whose loved one paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Losing a loved one in service to our country hits differently. These families are asked to carry on with strength and dignity, embodying the very ideals their loved ones fought to defend. It’s often called an honor no one wants.

I recently had the privilege of meeting with members of the Gold Star Wives of America in my Washington, D.C., office. Their resilience, grace and determination to advocate for military families left a lasting impression. Their stories are powerful reminders of the human cost of service.

WATCH: PRESIDENT TRUMP REVEALS FAMILIES OF SLAIN US SERVICE MEMBERS URGED HIM ‘FINISH THE JOB’

The sacrifice of our military families can’t be overstated. Every lost servicemember comes with ripple effects—lives disrupted, futures derailed, and families left with only memories and a folded flag.

As the father of a beautiful little girl, I can’t imagine the pain of losing a child. One Gold Star mother recently told my office about losing her son in 2010 to an IED in Afghanistan. She said, “Increasing the death benefit will help new Gold Star Families in many ways.” For her, this initial bridge payment helped cover travel expenses for family members who wanted to pay their respects; for others, it helped cover funeral costs or other bills left unpaid.  

The sacrifice of our military families can’t be overstated. Every lost servicemember comes with ripple effects—lives disrupted, futures derailed, and families left with only memories and a folded flag.

Grief doesn’t end after the funeral. Families have to come to grips with the fact that their loved one will never have another birthday or celebrate another Christmas. Spouses will mourn anniversaries and have to decide when or if to stop wearing a wedding ring. 

Gold Star children will have to live with disappointment for the rest of their lives, facing the reality of walking down the aisle without a father or picking out a wedding dress without a mother. These are all the tragic possibilities that every service member knows they are risking when they sign up to serve and the realities far too many have to face. 

A girl reacts in front of a headstone during Memorial Day as visitors honor veterans and those lost in war at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, U.S., May 31, 2021.   (Reuters)

Beyond emotional hardship, there are practical concerns too. Young spouses often put their own careers on hold to support their military husband or wife. When the worst happens, they now need to figure out how to financially support themselves and their children and all while navigating extreme grief. 

The reality these families face underscores a critical question: Why haven’t survivor benefits kept pace with modern needs? The initial payment families receive upon the death of their loved one has not been updated in over 20 years. Other benefits, including social security, military retirement, and federal salaries, have been adjusted for inflation, but not “death gratuity” payments for our military families. It’s time to correct this wrong.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION

That’s why I introduced the bipartisan Honoring Our Nation’s Obligation to Remember (HONOR) Gold Star Families Act. This legislation would increase the military death gratuity—often called the bridge payment—from $100,000 to $200,000 for the families of fallen servicemembers. 

The bill also adds a cost-of-living adjustment so that future payments automatically rise with inflation, helping ensure continued support for Gold Star families over time. This legislation was co-led by Armed Services Committee members Jen Kiggans, R-Va., and Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii. It was also endorsed by the American Gold Star Mothers, the Gold Star Wives of America, Military-Veterans Advocacy and the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS).

Recent losses remind us that this burden is ongoing. Take the recent conflict with Iran, where 13 servicemembers have lost their lives. One of those soldiers was Capt. Cody Khork, a 35-year-old man who, according to his family, was deeply patriotic and was defined by “love of country.”

Another servicemember who lost her life was Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor. She is survived by a son in his senior year of high school and a daughter in fourth grade. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan was also killed in the conflict. 

His niece wrote on Facebook. “You’re our Hero with a servant’s heart, you lead with love and bravery, you gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country, an honorable soldier, and I believe God welcomed you Home with open arms saying, ‘Well done, my son, well done.’”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The loss and heartache these families are experiencing right now cannot be quantified, but we can keep them in our prayers as they grieve, and we can support them in a meaningful way.

That’s why I made the HONOR Gold Star Families Act retroactive. My bill will apply to all families who have lost a loved one in Operation Epic Fury regardless of when my bill is signed into law. 

Our Gold Star moms, dads, children, spouses, and siblings have given so much for our nation. It’s time we give back to them—and this bill is just one way to do that.  

Australian authorities have arrested and charged the country’s most decorated living soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, 47, with five war crime murders allegedly committed during the war in Afghanistan.

Roberts-Smith, a former member of the Australian Defence Force, was arrested at Sydney Airport on Tuesday. His arrest has sparked outcry from a former Australian prime minister, who argued its unfair to judge the actions of “men in mortal combat by the standards of ordinary civilian life.” X owner Elon Musk also weighed in on the arrest, calling it “insane.”

The Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Special Investigator said Roberts-Smith is being charged in connection with the killings of five unarmed Afghans in three separate incidents between 2009 and 2012. AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett alleged that Roberts-Smith either killed the unarmed Afghans himself or instructed a subordinate to kill them. If convicted, Roberts-Smith faces life imprisonment on each charge.

“It will be alleged the victims were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their alleged murder in Afghanistan,” Barrett said during a press conference. “It will be alleged the victims were detained, unarmed and were under the control of ADF members when they were killed.”

NEW CHARGES AGAINST DC NATIONAL GUARD SHOOTING SUSPECT OPEN DEATH PENALTY DOOR

FILE – Ben Roberts-Smith arrives at the Federal Court in Sydney on June 9, 2021. Australia’s most decorated living war veteran lodged an appeal on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, against a civil court ruling that blamed him for the unlawful killings of four Afghans. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File) (Rick Rycroft/AP)

The investigation into Roberts-Smith began in 2021, according to Ross Barnett, director of investigations at the Office of the Special Investigator. Roberts-Smith received the Victoria Cross after storming two enemy machine guns during his fifth tour in Afghanistan.

Barnett said at the press conference that the investigation was “under challenging circumstances,” given that some of the murders occurred well over a decade ago and investigators were unable to visit Afghanistan.

“We don’t have access to the crime scenes, we don’t have photographs, site plans, measurements, the recovery of projectiles, blood spatter analysis, all of those things we would normally get at a crime scene,” Barnett said at the press conference.

TRUMP’S DC GUARD DEPLOYMENT DIDN’T FUEL VIOLENCE — BIDEN’S AFGHAN VETTING BREAKDOWN DID

Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith VC, MG attends a Victoria Cross and George Cross Association Reunion Service at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church on May 30, 2012 in London, England. (Max Mumby / Indigo / Getty Images)

While Australia’s current prime minister has yet to weigh in on the arrest, former Australian Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Party Tony Abbott expressed his support for Roberts-Smith on X in a lengthy post.

“If Ben Roberts-Smith transgressed, why wasn’t this picked up prior to his gallantry awards and why wasn’t any culture of brutality towards prisoners detected by his more senior officers, and dealt with quickly, rather than being allowed to fester, as has been alleged, for over a decade?” Abbott wrote.

Allegations that Roberts-Smith engaged in war crimes began circulating publicly in 2017 and 2018 in articles published by The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times.

Roberts-Smith filed a defamation suit against the papers, which became Australia’s most expensive defamation trial, but in 2023, a Federal Court judge ruled that four of the six murder allegations brought by the papers against Roberts-Smith were legitimate.

In one of the allegations ruled to have merit by Justice Anthony Besanko, Roberts-Smith allegedly marched a handcuffed Afghan man named Ali Jan off the edge of a 10-meter cliff. He survived the fall, but Roberts-Smith and his fellow soldiers walked down a footpath to meet him. Roberts-Smith then ordered a subordinate, known as Person 11 in court, to shoot him.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 07: Ben Roberts-Smith departs the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney on June 07, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. Ben Roberts-Smith is suing three Fairfax newspapers for defamation over reports he committed war crimes while serving in the Australian Special Air Services in Afghanistan. Ben Roberts-Smith is Australia’s most decorated living soldier and a Victoria Cross recipient. (Sam Mooy / Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The High Court dismissed Roberts-Smith’s appeal of the ruling in September 2025.

The criminal charges against Roberts-Smith stem from a joint effort by OSI and AFP. The two Australian agencies have conducted 53 investigations into ADF members tied to war crime allegations in Afghanistan. Ten of the investigations remain ongoing.

An RAF veteran thrown out of the force for being gay is calling on the MOD to extend reparations for those thrown out of the armed forces for their sexuality.

80-year-old Chris Dennis joined the RAF as a radar technician straight out of school at 16, in 1961.

Chris was dishonourably discharged five years into his career at the RAF because of his sexuality.

A £75,000,000 scheme set up by the UK government in 2024 has paid out £50,000 sums to those thrown out of the armed forces because of their sexuality between 1967 and 2000, but Chris missed out on his payment by a matter of months.

The reparations provide an additional £20,000 available for those who suffered further negative impacts, such as investigations, harassment, or imprisonment.

But because Chris was thrown out of the RAF at the end of 1966, he’s not eligible for the scheme, and the veteran is now calling on the Ministry of Defence to revise the rules, allowing those outside the ‘arbitrary’ cutoff date to be offered the same compensation packages.

In addition to not being paid reparations, Chris says he is not allowed to fully participate in Remembrance Day parades, making him feel as unwelcome as when he was thrown out for his sexuality.

‘I enjoyed my job. It was great. Then, in 1966, I was arrested, interrogated by the SIB (Special Investigations Branch) and charged with, essentially, being a homosexual,’ he said.

‘I think the actual wording was ‘an act of gross indecency with another man’. I was discharged with ignominy – a dishonourable discharge. A year later, the civilian law changed to decriminalise male homosexuality.’

The armed forces eventually changed the rules in 2000, making homosexuality legal in the military, but the damage had been done to thousands of soldiers like Chris.

As well as losing the job he loved, he was also unable to work on government contracts when he got work as a commercial engineer.

He also claimed that SIB officers had indicated he could receive an ordinary discharge if he gave the names of other gay servicemen, which he refused to do.

‘You are suddenly kicked out, and you lose the support, the job, everything. It was a big shock,’ he said.

‘The next biggest shock came when I lost my next job. I got a job with a private company as a radar engineer and worked with them for around three weeks.

‘But they said, ‘We can’t get security clearance for you’. Any company that has a government contract has to submit details of its employees. They said, ‘Can you tell us the reason we can’t get clearance for you?’. I told them, and they were quite helpful.’

Non-financial reparations offered to LGBTQ+ veterans include a rainbow pin, known as the Etherton Ribbon, as well as berets and the restoration of medals and rank.

But despite the Etherton Report extending these reparations, both financial and non-financial, to LGBTQ+ members of the armed forces who served between 1967 and 2000, Chris was denied these due to his being kicked out before that date.

‘The government accepted the report that you could only claim if you were discharged between 1967 and 2000,’ he said.

‘So I missed out by a matter of months. I still a pplied and got this letter back saying: ‘You don’t qualify’. It was another kick in the teeth. You see the military people wearing their berets and medals, but I am not allowed to do that. I couldn’t claim them back, the badges and medals.’

Chris said he’s pleased that other LGBTQ veterans have received reparations, but he still feels like an ‘outcast’.

‘People ask me if I’m angry, but there’s no point in getting angry. I am too old for that,’ he added.

‘I am disappointed, as much as anything, that it has come to this. [The RAF] is a brilliant life. If I could wind the clock back, knowing what I know now, I would still join up.’

Though £50,000 would ‘help in his pocket’, being denied the non-financial reparations is even more hurtful, Chris said.

‘The emotional side of, ‘You are now accepted back’ – that’s more important. Back in the day, it was difficult being gay. You had to be on your toes all the time, thinking: Do they know? Will they find out? Should I tell them?’

Mr Dennis and his partner of over 30 years got a civil partnership at a ceremony at the British Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam, when they were both living in Hong Kong in 2012.

Peter Gibson, Chief Executive of LGBTQ+Veteran charity Fighting With Pride, said Mr Dennis not getting his reparations lacks ‘any sense of justice’.

He said: ‘It is grossly unfair that the MOD will not simply extend even the non-financial reparations to people like Chris. To not provide him with his beret and an Etherton Ribbon is simply mean and unkind, and lacks any sense of justice and fairness.’

A MOD spokesperson said it does not comment on individual cases, but added: ‘We deeply regret the treatment of LGBT serving personnel between 1967 and 2000, which was wholly unacceptable and does not reflect today’s Armed Forces.

‘LGBT veterans have the same right to wear their medals and berets as other veterans.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

MORE: Bridgerton’s Michaela Stirling ‘doesn’t feel she’s playing a queer quality’ in gender-swapped role

MORE: Iran’s exiled crown prince urges UK to back US military action ‘to stop the killing’

MORE: LGBTQ+ Pride flag torn down from queer salon ‘for the sixth time in just three years’