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‘They’re Great Heroes’: American Service Members Killed By Iranian Retaliatory Strikes Welcomed Home

‘They’re Great Heroes’: American Service Members Killed By Iranian Retaliatory Strikes Welcomed Home

Dover Air Force Base (Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Thomas Wong
March 7, 2026 4:49 PM ET

The bodies of six United States Army reservists killed by an Iranian drone attack in Kuwait were escorted home Saturday for a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware observed by their families, President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and several members of the administration.

The United States and Israel launched military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran on Feb. 28, aimed at “eliminating imminent threats” from the ruling regime, including forcibly denying any further development of a nuclear weapons program. Announcing Operation Epic Fury early that morning, Trump warned that “[t]he lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties. That often happens in war, but we’re doing this not for now — we’re doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission.”

Striking thousands of targets across Iran since then, Operation Epic Fury has been described as “one of the largest, most complex, most overwhelming military offensives the world has ever seen.”

In retaliation for the strikes which killed dozens of senior regime officials, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran targeted civilians, tourism, energy infrastructure, and U.S. bases across twelve of the Persian Gulf’s Arab states. A Sunday morning attack by an Iranian unmanned aircraft system killed six American service members and wounded others at a fortified tactical operations center in the Kuwait’s Port Shuaiba.

The Department of War began publicly identifying the deceased Tuesday:

All were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, Des Moines, Iowa. They are the first American service members to have been killed in this year’s armed conflict between the U.S. and Iran. In addition, 18 service members were injured.

“I’ll be leaving for Dover, very sad situation, to greet the families of the heroes, you know, coming home from Iran, coming home in a different manner than they thought they’d be coming home. But they’re great heroes in our country, and we’re going to keep it that way,” Trump told world leaders gathered hours earlier for the Shield of the Americas Summit in Doral, Fla. “There’s always, when it comes to war, there’s always that, but we’re going to keep it to a minimum, I think, Pete [Hegseth]. And [it’s] gonna be something, a service that we’re really providing, not for the Middle East, but for the world. These were sick people, very sick people.”

Arriving on Air Force One, the commander in chief landed shortly after 1 p.m. EST and was greeted by Col. Jamil Musa, the commander of the 436th Airlift Wing, and Col. Martha “Jeannie” Sasnett, the commander of Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations at the base. He was joined by the first lady, Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Deputy White House Chief of Staff James Blair, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, Special Envoy for Peace Missions Ambassador Steve Witkoff, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, and Army Chief of Staff Randy George. Trump then met with the families of the fallen for approximately an hour.

In addition, Democratic Delaware Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, Republican Nebraska Sens. Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts, as well as Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Republican Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, and Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and her husband, were present for the event.

The president arrived for the start of the dignified transfer at 3:09 p.m. EST, which finished with the “Flight Line dismissed” call at 3:41 p.m. Draped with American flags, each transfer case contained the remains of the fallen and was solemnly moved by an honor guard into waiting vans. There is no formal role for a president at a dignified transfer. Attending dignitaries do not speak; the silence is pierced solely by military officials directing the highly choreographed event.

From the C-17 Globemaster which flew them to the U.S., the deceased were then brought to the base’s mortuary overseen by the Armed Services Medical Examiner System. The commander in chief, wearing a white cap reading, “USA,” saluted as each case passed by. The bodies will then be prepared for their final resting places. The solemn event has conveyed respect for those who died serving the United State since 1948.

During the flight back to Florida, Trump reflected, “I’m glad we paid our respects. It’s a tough situation. Great people, great parents, wives, family, at a beautiful ceremony.”

Asked if witnessing the dignified transfer made him think differently about the conflict with Iran, or at least the possibility of deplying ground troops, Trump responded, “We’re winning the war by a lot. We’ve decimated their whole evil empire. It’ll continue, I’m sure, for a little while.”

“The parents were so proud,” he continued. “Many of them are military parents, as you know. But it’s always a very sad thing.”

“The war itself is going unbelievable,” he concluded. “As good as it can be.”

Trump previous observed the dignified transfer of two Iowa National Guard members and a U.S. civilian interpreter who were killed Dec. 13 2025, in Syria. Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown were members of the 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment. His first attendance of a dignified transfer at Dover was Feb. 1, 2017, for Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens. Owens was a Navy SEAL who died of wounds suffered during a Jan. 29 raid in Yemen against al-Qaida. Trump attended at least four dignified transfers during his first term as president.

Editor’s note: This breaking news report was updated with additional details.

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