‘I got one of those calls’: Biden remembers son Beau in heartbreaking phone call with parents of 24-year-old soldier killed in drone strike in Jordan, revealing she was posthumously promoted

President Joe Biden revealed that he is Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders’ a posthumous promotion to sergeant, made the announcement during a moving phone conversation with her parents.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution posted a video of Shawn Sanders and Oneida Oliver-Sanders receiving a call from Biden to express his condolences for the loss of their daughter.

Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, was one of three soldiers killed in a drone strike last weekend on US soldiers in Jordan.

“I wish I didn’t have to make this call. I know, you know, everyone knows there’s nothing anyone can say or do,” Biden says over the loudspeaker as parents listen. ‘I have been there. So we understand. I just want you to know that you are in my prayers and in my heart.”

Biden also asked for their blessing to attend the dignified transfer of the remains from Dover Air Force Base on Friday, which they granted.

The president has called all three families of the fallen to express his condolences and ask if they could attend the ceremony, the White House said Tuesday.

He called the Sanders at their home in Waycross, Georgia.

Shawn Sanders, 51 and a former Marine, told the newspaper that he promised his daughter that if she decided to pursue a full-time career in the military, she would move up the ranks.

“Thank you, sir,” Shawn Sanders said when Biden told them about her promotion.

“You don’t know how much that means to us,” Oneida Oliver-Sanders, 48, said.

They both cried when Biden told them the news. Kennedy had submitted her papers for a promotion to sergeant and was still waiting to hear whether she would get the promotion when she died.

During the six-minute phone call, Biden offered words of comfort and mentioned his own losses: his son Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015; and his first wife and daughter, who died in a car accident in 1972.

“I got one of those calls,” he said of that day 52 years ago.

“You won’t believe it now, and hope you won’t be angry when I say it, but there will come a day… when you walk past a park where Kennedy played, or you open a closet and you smell the scent of her clothes or something like that, and you’ll smile before you cry,” Biden said.

‘Then you know you will succeed. It takes a really long time to get there, but I promise you you will get there. I know that’s no comfort now.’

He also said he looked at Kennedy’s photo and “she had such a beautiful smile.” God loves her.’

Oliver-Sanders told the president, “I appreciate your words.”

The president also offered the Sanders the number of a phone just outside the Oval Office so they could call if they needed anything or wanted to meet him at the White House.

He started to give them a 202 phone number when Shawn Sanders interrupted, “We have a room full of people. And I think it would be in our best interest if you turn off the speaker and get the number.”

They then put it back on speakerphone and Biden joked, “I’m president of the United States of America – quote ‘the most powerful man in the world’, they keep telling me, but they won’t let me have a phone.”

The Sanders laughed at his statement.

Also killed along with Kennedy Ladon Sanders were Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Georgia and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, from Savannah, Georgia.

Kennedy’s parents have described how she was close to fellow fallen soldier Breonna Moffet, who was killed in the same attack.

Onedia said Fox news: ‘She made many friends during her military service, even people she did basic training with.

“Breonna Moffet was one of those she became close to. Every time she called me or Facetimed me, Breonna Moffet was always somewhere nearby.”

While Shawn told the outlet, “She was the life of the party. She enjoyed life.

“She was very competitive, goal-oriented and loved community service and serving our country. I miss her, I know, this morning was hard for me.”

When asked if she joined the Army Reserves because her family was involved in the military, Sanders said, “We have family that has served.

‘I don’t know where the influence came from, but she enjoyed her time in the service.

“Being in the past, I am always focused on her commitment to the military and understanding the ultimate sacrifice.

“I came home, her big brother came home. My father came home. Many of us don’t have the opportunity to come home, and we must honor those who don’t.

“I’m gracious to be a part of it and that so many people are willing to share their feelings about her duty to the country.

Oneida added: “I just want everyone to know that Kennedy was a fun-loving person and lived her life to the fullest and enjoyed life.

“I encourage everyone to do the same and when you think of Kennedy, whether you knew her or not, just think about how happy she was with her personality.”

The three soldiers were killed alongside William Rivers during the deadly suicide drone attack in Jordan on Saturday.

The troops were in their sleeping quarters at the time, and the Pentagon confirmed Monday that the victims were likely in bed.

The three were assigned to the 718th Engineer Company, a U.S. Army reserve unit based at Fort Moore, Georgia.

During a speech at the White House on Tuesday, Biden was asked how he knew Iran was responsible for the fatal drone attack on US troops in Jordan last week.

He replied: ‘I hold them responsible in the sense that they are supplying the weapons to the people who did it.’

Asked whether he held Tehran directly responsible, he said: “We will have those conversations.”

Pressed about his own administration’s concerns about the risks of escalation, the president responded: “We’ll see.”

Asked if he has made a decision on how the US will respond, he said: “Yes.”

He added: “I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East, that’s not what I’m looking for.”