President Joe Biden recently honored his uncle's wartime service but misstated key details about his death in World War II. Biden spoke about his uncle, 2nd Lt. Ambrose J. Finnegan Jr., who he said got shot down in New Guinea during the war. However, the U.S. government's records do not attribute Finnegan's death to hostile action or cannibals in the area as Biden mentioned.
Biden shared a family tradition of saying three Hail Marys at a gravesite, which he did at his uncle's memorial. He also criticized former President Donald Trump, stating that Trump was unworthy of being commander in chief for his family members who served in the military.
Biden's uncle, known as 'Bosie,' died on May 14, 1944, in a plane crash in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of New Guinea. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency confirmed that Finnegan was a passenger on the plane and remains unaccounted for to this day.
Despite the discrepancies between Biden's account and official records, the White House expressed pride in Finnegan's service and highlighted his story to emphasize the importance of honoring veterans and their families.
In addition to misstating details about his uncle's death, Biden also inaccurately mentioned when his uncles enlisted in the military, claiming they joined the day after D-Day in June 1944 when they actually enlisted after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Biden's 2008 book briefly mentions his uncle as a flyer killed in New Guinea. The president's remarks about his uncle's service and the criticism of Trump come amid ongoing debates about honoring military veterans and allegations against the former president regarding his comments about fallen service members.
