The brother of a Marine who perished during the tumultuous withdrawal from Afghanistan a year ago committed himself at a memorial to his sibling.
Dakota Halverson, 28 years old, of Norco, California, committed suicide on August 9.
Kareem Nikoui, his 20-year-old brother, was one of thirteen American soldiers killed on August 26, 2012, when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device outside the Kabul airport as panicked civilians fled.
Their mother, Shana Chappell, posted on Facebook on Frida
that Dakota’s death was part of the ‘ripple effect’ of President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw troops and allow the Taliban to regain control.
She said, “I lost two boys in less than a year, both in the month of August!” and described Dakota as a “wonderful son.”
“I feel a great deal of pain, rage, and even guilt,” Chappell said. Dakota expressed some of the things that had been upsetting him, one of which being the death of his brother Kareem and his desire to be reunited with him.
She said, “He would sneak into the cemetery at night and lay on Kareem’s grave,” as he struggled to accept that Kareem had died.
Chappell stated, presumably in reference to the Fallen 13 Monument Flower Garden Square, which was erected adjacent to Norco Country Center in January, “He took his own life across from a permanent memorial we have in town for his brother Kareem.”
She said that she failed to see the warning signals because she was too preoccupied with her own pain.
This is not a political blog post, but this is the ripple effect! Chappell wrote, after previously blaming Biden for Kareem’s death. In a Facebook post, Chappell characterized Dakota as having a “golden heart.”
She stated, “He went through some difficult times in his life and his life wasn’t always easy, but he managed to persevere and was slowly putting his life back on track.”
“He will do anything for anybody,” said the speaker. He was constantly glad for others and shown and shared his pride in their accomplishments. He only wanted to feel loved and desired.
She remarked, “Kota had a highly forgiving heart and loved everyone without condition.” “He is far more forgiving than I am, and his heart is superior to mine.”
Now my children have lost another sibling. Dakota’s pals have lost a dear buddy.
Chappell said, “My Coco and my Kareemy, I love you both so much!” in a letter: “I’m still in disbelief about this, and when the shock wears off, I honestly don’t know how I’ll get through this.”
And on Tuesday, while reporting Dakota’s death, Chappell wrote that August “has been particularly difficult thus far, with the one-year anniversary of Kareem’s death approaching.”
I see my children as strong and capable of handling anything. That was my error.
“Recently, my son Dakota has been expressing his want to be with Kareem, how much he misses him, etc….
“We all feel that way, therefore I missed the warning flags.”
My son Dakota left to be with his sibling Kareem this morning.
She said that she was “still in shock about this at the moment, and I cannot believe it’s true.” Chappell has been outspoken in her condemnation of President Biden after Kareem’s death, stating in many Facebook postings that she holds him responsible for his death and the deaths of the 12 other soldiers.
In a Facebook post, she reported seeing the president last year at Dover Air Force as the remains of the slain soldiers were being removed from a military plane.
Chappell said that she stared him “directly in the eyes” and told him she did not want to hear about the President’s late son Beau, whom he had constantly referenced, and that he had the blood of her son on his hands.
You attempted to cut me off and tell me your own sob tale… I had to tell you, “This is not about you, so stop making it about you!”
You then said that you just wanted me to know that you understand how I feel, and I informed you that you do not understand how I feel, nor do you have the right to assert that you do!
“As you turned to go, I informed you that my son’s blood was on your hands, and as you walked away from me, you raised your hand as if to say, “Okay, whatever!”
The White House has not responded to these claims.
Later, Chappell’s account was suspended, with a Facebook representative informing DailyMail.com that it was ‘incorrectly’ erased.
Chappell believes Facebook suspended her account when she blogged about her son’s death four days earlier, without mentioning Biden, but which went viral and drew attention to her page.
‘As soon as I wrote about what happened to my kid, Instagram began bringing up my old posts and warning me that they would deactivate my account if I continued to post such content. “Messages from months ago!” she said.
In previous comments, she has said, “President Joe Biden, THEIR BLOOD IS ON YOUR HANDS!!!!”
However, Facebook spokesman Andy Stone told DailyMail.com, ‘We offer our heartfelt sympathies to Ms. Chappell and her family.
The mother’s homage to her hero kid does not breach any of our rules.
While the message was not removed, her account was deactivated in error and has subsequently been reinstated.
As for her prior postings that had been flagged, which included several about visiting the White House before her son’s death, Facebook cited its “three strikes” policy. On September 17, Nikoui was interred at the Crestlawn Mortuary in Riverside.
On January 4, in commemoration of what would have been Nikoui’s 21st birthday, his family conducted a memorial service at his tomb.
Chappell said on a GoFundMe page for Dakota’s burial costs that his brother found Nikoui’s death “very tough to endure.”
She said that Halverson want to be buried with his brother.
This campaign has raised more than $38,000 for the family as of Monday.