More than 40 family members of fallen armed service members, including Boston Marathon bombing hero Carlos Arredondo, penned a letter to Donald Trump Monday, calling for him to retract disparaging comments made toward the family of a fallen soldier.

“We feel we must speak out and demand you apologize to the Khans, to all Gold Star families, and to all Americans for your offensive, and frankly anti-American, comments,” said the letter from Gold Star family members, which was released by VoteVets.org, a left-leaning advocacy group for veterans and their families.

Arredondo, who is known for the iconic photos that show him wearing a cowboy hat and pushing bombing survivor Jeff Bauman down Boylston Street after two bombs went off during the 2013 marathon, signed the letter along with his wife, Melida. LCpl. Alexander Arredondo, the son of Carlos Arredondo and stepson of Melida Arredondo, was killed in action in Iraq in 2004.


The demand comes after Trump criticized Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of U.S. Army Captain Hymayun Khan, who, like Alexander Arredondo, was killed in Iraq in 2004. When Khizr Khan appeared on stage at the Democratic National Convention last week and attacked Trump’s values in a speech, the Republican nominee responded by noting that Ghazala stood by him with “nothing to say,” suggesting that she might have been forbidden to speak by her husband.

“Your recent comments regarding the Khan family were repugnant, and personally offensive to us,” the letter said. “When you question a mother’s pain, by implying that her religion, not her grief, kept her from addressing an arena of people, you are attacking us.”

Ghazala Khan responded to Trump’s claims in a Washington Post op-ed, saying she was too grief-stricken to speak at the convention when she saw a large photo of her son.

Trump has not yet apologized for his comments, leading the families to send the letter in solidarity with the Khans.

“We are all Gold Star Families, who have lost those we love the most in war,” the letter said. “Ours is a sacrifice you will never know. Ours is a sacrifice we would never want you to know.”