(WSIL) -- President Joe Biden pledged last to have all troops in Afghanistan home by September 11.
As of January there are roughly 2,500 troops left in Afghanistan, according to the Department of .
The plan, set to begin in May, would end America's longest war 20 years after the 9/11 attacks. But veterans in Southern Illinois are split over Biden's plan.
West Frankfort army veteran Jack McReynolds served during the Korean War in the early 1950s. McReynolds says it's about time the troops returned home to get the care they need.
"They were over there in a deadly place and a lot of them come back with problems," McReynolds said. "They come [sic] back with problems back then but they didn't recognize them. They called it 'shell shock'."
Since October 2001, more than 2,500 U.S. troops have died in the War in Afghanistan, according to compiled by .
Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, praised the move while critiquing the plan's end date.
"Getting out of Afghanistan is a wonderful and positive thing to do," Trump said in a statement. "I planned to withdraw on May 1st, and we should keep as close to that schedule as possible."
But not everyone agrees with the move. West Frankfort navy veteran Danny Hogan, who served from 1969 to 1973 in Taiwan and the Mediterranean.
Hogan believes taking the troops out will escalate conflict in the country. It's worrisome because the U.S., Hogan says, could simply send the troops back.
"I don't have a problem with the troops being there. I wish all of them were home and would stay here," Hogan said. "The only way you're going to find out is to bring them home I guess."
