Donald Trump on Saturday joined the families of six American soldiers killed in the Middle East war during a dignified transfer ritual at Dover Air Force Base.
A “dignified transfer” is when the remains of U.S. service members killed in combat are returned to the United States.
The soldiers were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait earlier this week, as the United States and Israel continue their war over regime change in Iran.
The transfer is considered one of the grimmest duties of any commander in chief. During Saturday’s event, the president wore a golf cap emblazoned with Trump’s “USA.” No cell phones were allowed during the entire dignified transfer.
In addition to the president, some members of his cabinet were present, including JD Vance, the vice president; Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense; Pam Bondi, the attorney general; and others.
Trump, speaking at a summit of Latin American leaders in Miami on Saturday before his trip to Dover Air Force Base, said fallen service members were heroes “coming home in a different way than they thought they would come home.” He called it “a very sad situation” and promised to keep American war deaths “to a minimum.”
Those killed in action were Sergeant First Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California; Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa; Sergeant First Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; and Sergeant Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, who was posthumously promoted from specialist.
The families of the six members of the army reserve were present during the transfer.
All six soldiers were killed in a drone attack on a command center in Kuwait. All were from the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines, Iowa, which provides food, fuel, water, ammunition, transportation equipment and supplies, the Associated Press reported. They died just one day after the United States and Israel launched their military campaign against Iran.
During the ritual, transfer boxes wrapped with the American flag and containing the remains of fallen soldiers are transported from the military plane that transported them to a waiting vehicle to take them to the mortuary facility on the base.
Amor’s husband, Joey Amor, said earlier this week that she planned to return home to him and their two children in a few days, the Associated Press reports.
“You don’t go to Kuwait thinking something is going to happen, and for her to be one of the first…it hurts,” Joey Amor said.
O’Brien had served in the Army Reserve for nearly 15 years, according to his LinkedIn account, and his aunt said in a Facebook post that O’Brien “was the sweetest blonde, blue-eyed farm boy you’ll ever meet. We miss him so much already.”
Marzan’s sister described him in a Facebook post as a “strong leader” and a loving husband, father and brother.
“My little brother, you are loved and I will keep all our memories and always treasure them in my heart,” Elizabeth Marzan wrote.
Coady was among the youngest in his class and trained to troubleshoot military computer systems, but he impressed his instructors, his father, Andrew Coady, told the Associated Press.
“He trained hard, he worked hard, his fitness was important to him. He loved being a soldier,” Coady said. “He was also one of the kindest people you’d ever meet, and would do anything for anyone.”
Khork’s family described him as “the soul of the party”, known for his “infectious spirit” and “generous heart” and who had wanted to serve in the army since childhood.
“That commitment helped shape the course of his life and reflected the deep sense of duty that was always at the core of who he was,” according to a statement from his mother, Donna Burhans, his father, James Khork, and his stepmother, Stacey Khork.
Tietjens, who came from a military family, previously served alongside his father in Kuwait. When he returned home in February 2010, he joined his happy wife in the gymnasium of a local church.
Tietjens’ cousin, Kaylyn Golike, asked for prayers, especially for Tietjens’ 12-year-old son, wife and parents, as they deal with an “unimaginable loss.”
Trump most recently traveled to Dover in December for another dignified transfer of two members of the Iowa National Guard and a U.S. civilian interpreter. The three died in an ambush in the Syrian desert.
During Trump’s first term, he attended dignified transfers on several occasions, including for a Navy Seal killed during a raid in Yemen, for two Army officers whose helicopter crashed in Afghanistan, and for two Army soldiers killed in Afghanistan when a person wearing an Afghan Army uniform opened fire.
Hugo Lowell contributed reporting
