On Saturday, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attended a solemn ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Kent County, Delaware, honoring six U.S. service members who lost their lives in a drone attack by Iran on March 1 in Kuwait.
This dignified transfer is a poignant ceremony, marking one of the gravest responsibilities of the commander-in-chief, as it involves the repatriation of soldiers killed in the line of duty.
The service members were victims of a drone strike in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, while they were involved in Operation Epic Fury.
At the base, transfer cases were utilized to bring the soldiers’ remains, which will be identified and prepared for their return home.
Once identified, the fallen soldiers are respectfully placed in caskets and transported to their final resting places.
President Donald Trump was seen arriving at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday to participate in the dignified transfer ceremony for the six U.S. Army soldiers who perished in the drone strike in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. (Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)
All six were U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines, Iowa, which provides food, fuel, water and ammunition, and transports equipment and supplies.
The War Department identified the fallen service members as Maj. Jeffery O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California, is also believed to be deceased.
Each of the soldiers’ families were present at the transfer.
Trump, speaking at a summit of Latin American leaders in Miami before traveling to Delaware, called the fallen service members heroes “coming home in a different manner than they thought they’d be coming home.”
He described the attack as “a very sad situation” and pledged to keep American war deaths “to a minimum.”
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who also attended the ritual, wrote in a social media post on Friday of “an unbreakable spirit to honor their memory and the resolve they embodied.”
Officials said the soldiers were supporting operations in the region when the unmanned aircraft struck their position.
Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Lakeland, Florida; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa. (U.S. Army Reserve Command Press Desk; Fox News)
Khork enlisted in the National Guard in 2009 as a multiple launch rocket system/fire direction specialist, then commissioned as a military police officer in the Army Reserve in 2014. He deployed to Saudi Arabia in 2018, Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in 2021, and Poland in 2024. His awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with 10 Year Device and “M” Device.
Amor joined the National Guard in 2005 as an automated logistics specialist and transferred to the Army Reserve the following year. She deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019 and earned multiple commendations, including the Army Commendation Medal and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” Device.
Tietjens entered the Army Reserve in 2006 as a wheeled vehicle mechanic and completed two deployments to Kuwait in 2009 and 2019. His decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Achievement Medal and the Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star.
Coady enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023 as an information technology specialist and was posthumously promoted from specialist to sergeant. His awards include the National Defense Service Medal and the Overseas Service Ribbon.
O’Brien served nearly 15 years in the Army Reserve. Commissioned in 2012 as a Signal Corps officer, he was promoted to major in 2024 and previously deployed to Kuwait in 2019. In civilian life, he worked in cybersecurity and defensive cyber operations.
Marzan, of Sacramento, California, was an Army reservist assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command. Family and state officials described him as a devoted husband and father.
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