(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday misspoke about the death of his uncle who served in World War II.
The president was in Pittsburgh speaking about his uncle, 2nd Lt. Ambrose J. Finnegan Jr. when he said that Finnegan “got shot down in New Guinea.” He went on to say the body was never recovered and “there used to be a lot of cannibals” in the region.
The U.S. government’s record of missing service members does not attribute Finnegan’s death to hostile action or indicate cannibalism, the Associated Press reported.
Biden also misstated when his uncles enlisted. The Democratic president said they signed up the day after D-Day in June 1944, but they joined weeks after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, according to The AP.
“President Biden is proud of his uncle’s service in uniform,“ Bates said, adding Finnegan ”lost his life when the military aircraft he was on crashed in the Pacific after taking off near New Guinea,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in an official statement.
Biden also used his appearance Wednesday to throw a jab at former President Donald Trump, repeating claims that the GOP presidential nominee previously called wounded and captured service members “suckers,” and “losers.”
Trump has denied those allegations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
