In a tragic turn of events, Declan Coady, the youngest among six American soldiers who lost their lives in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait, had reached out to his family to offer comfort just hours before the attack claimed his life.
At the age of 20, Coady made a heartfelt call to his brother, who was serving in Italy, mere hours before the drone impacted the command center on Sunday. His father, Andrew Coady, shared this poignant detail with CBS News on Wednesday, highlighting the cruel timing of the incident.
“Based on the sequence of events and the limited information we have, it’s a painful assumption that the strike occurred shortly after that phone conversation,” Andrew revealed, underscoring the abrupt and tragic nature of the attack.
In the days leading up to the attack, Declan maintained regular contact with his family, providing them with frequent updates to ease their concerns.
“Declan was diligent in letting us know he was safe, messaging every one to two hours with reassurances,” Andrew recounted. “He wanted to make sure we weren’t worried about him, always trying to keep our spirits up.”
“Like don’t worry about me, and so forth.”
Coady’s heartbroken sister, Keira, said she feared the worst when her family didn’t hear from the soldier. He had still been messaging his family during Iran’s retaliatory attacks to “Operation Epic Fury.”
“After trying to check in, we heard nothing,” she told ABC News.
“Trying to be positive we all assumed he was just in a situation where he couldn’t message back, but we all knew something was wrong.”
Andrew told the Associated Press, “Your gut starts to get a feeling” after his son stopped replying to messages.
Keira and her family were about to go to bed when the doorbell rang, and said, “the rest of that night will forever be one of the worst nights of our lives.”
“While it’s all blurry, we all knew what the doorbell meant,” she added.
Coady, who had trained as an information technology specialist with the Army Reserves, was in line to receive a promotion where he would be named sergeant. He has since received this title posthumously.
“He was very good at what he did,” Andrew said as he paid a gushing tribute to his late son.
Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39; Capt. Cody Khork, 35; and Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, were also identified by the Pentagon.
Chief Warrant Officer Three Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, Calif., is also “believed to be deceased.”
The fallen soldiers were all part of the 103rd Sustainment Command, which provides food, fuel, water and ammunition, transport equipment and supplies.
President Trump previously told NBC News the US “expects casualties” given the operation after it became apparent three servicemembers had died.
“But in the end it’s going to be a great deal for the world,” he said.
Trump will travel to Dover Air Force Base for the dignified transfer of the servicemembers.
With Post wires
