The bodies of soldiers from an Iowa-based unit killed in an Iranian strike in Kuwait are being returned to the United States.
Military officials said the six members of the 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) include Sgt. Declan Coady of West Des Moines and Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien of Waukee. Also among them, they said, is Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, a former longtime West Des Moines resident.
When will Sgt. Declan Coady and Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien be returned to the United States?
U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, an Ankeny Republican and Air Force colonel, said Thursday, March 5, that the remains of the fallen service members are expected to arrive Saturday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, home of the U.S. military’s mortuary service.
President Donald Trump and other leaders will join the families there to witness the process known as a dignified transfer.
An official time for the transfer had not been announced by Friday late afternoon.
What is a dignified transfer?
A dignified transfer is a military procedure for returning the remains of fallen service members to the U.S. Their caskets will be draped with American flags as they’re moved by an honor guard from the aircraft used to bring them home.
The remains are then transferred to the Dover Air Force Base mortuary for identification by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System and preparation for their final resting place.
Dignified transfers of military members have been occurring at Dover since its establishment in 1948, and are a solemn show of respect for those who lose their lives in the nation’s service.
Who will attend the dignified transfer for Iowa soldiers killed in Kuwait?
Gov. Kim Reynolds said, while speaking to reporters on Thursday at the Iowa Capitol, that she would attend the dignified transfer of the fallen Iowan soldiers.
“We’re waiting to hear when that will be, but we’ll be there at every step of the way until we get those Iowans that have been killed or wounded back home,” she said.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday announced Trump’s planned to receive the soldiers’ bodies and meet with their families at Dover Air Force Base.
Nunn also said he would attend, postponing a previously planned fundraiser with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Iowa U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, both Republicans, announced Friday that they would attend as well.
Plans for the rest of Iowa’s congressional delegation were not announced.
Who attended the dignified transfer for Iowans killed in Syria?
Trump, Reynolds and all members of Iowa’s congressional delegation except Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks attended the dignified transfer of two Iowa National Guard soldiers killed in Syria late last year. Miller-Meeks remained in Washington, D.C., to work on a vote for a health care bill she sponsored.
Iowa National Guard Staff Sgts. William Nathaniel “Nate” Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, and Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, were killed in an ambush in Syria on Dec. 13 and were returned to Dover Air Force Base on Dec. 17.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: What is a dignified transfer? Iowans killed in Kuwait to return to US
Reporting by Cooper Worth, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
