Following the news that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl – who had been held captive by the Taliban since June 2009 – had been handed over to the U.S. in exchange for five Guantanamo detainees, it was revealed that fellow soldiers had died searching for the man who may have been a deserter.

Lt. Darryn Andrews Died Looking For Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl

Lt. Darryn Andrews had been on a mission to take down a Taliban commander in September 2009. After the mission was completed, Andrews' unit was ordered to continue onward in search of Bergdahl. It was on this extended mission that Andrews came face-to-face with a Taliban fighter readying himself to launch a rocket-propelled grenade, reported the Daily Beast.

Upon seeing the fighter, Andrews shoved the men on either side of him out of the way – a radio man and a sergeant – and shouted out “RPG” so that the five other soldiers with him would know to seek cover. Andrews took a direct hit and died, and despite the officer’s efforts, his radio man, Pfc. Matthew Martinek, 20, died from his injuries as well. The other five men survived thanks to Andrews.

Andrews Family Reacts To New Information About Death

Up until Bergdahl’s highly publicized rescue, the Andrews family had believed that Andrews died on the mission to capture the Taliban commander, which was what the military had told them. The soldiers present on the day of deadly combat had been forced into silence about the actual events that led to Andrews' heroic death, so as not to damage the efforts to find Bergdahl.

“On one hand, you’re not all that surprised. But still, when you have lost your son, you hate it,” said Darryn Andrew’s father Andy Andrews of the deceit. “This is kind of dragging it back up, but we’ll get through it.”

Though Andy Andrews is happy for Bergdahl’s family in that they get their son back, he does not believe that Bergdahl should receive a hero’s welcome. “We need to make sure who the heroes are and say who is a hero, and Bergdahl is not a hero.”

“I’m glad his parents have him back,” added Darryn Andrew’s surviving father. “But there is no honor in the way it happened.”