The bodies of two Iowa soldiers killed in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait will soon be returned to the United States.
The families of Sgt. Declan Coady and Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien will be joined by President Donald Trump, members of the military and elected officials from Iowa to greet their bodies at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware as part of a process known as a dignified transfer.
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 an American flag as they’re moved from the aircraft used to bring them home.
The remains are then transferred to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for mortuary affairs processing, identification by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System and preparation for their final resting place.
Major events and missions in American history have long been connected to Dover Air Force Base since its establishment in 1948, including dignified transfers.
When will Sgt. Declan Coady and Maj. Jeffrey R. O’Brien be returned to the United States?
Coady, 20, of West Des Moines and O’Brien, 45, of Waukee, were among six members of a Des Moines-based Army Reserve unit who were killed in an Iranian drone strike at Shuaiba Port in Kuwait on March 1.
Their bodies are expected to be returned to the United States in a dignified transfer ceremony on Saturday, March, 7, said U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa. An official time for the transfer has not been announced as of 12:30 p.m. March 6.
Who will attend the dignified transfer for Iowa soldiers killed in Kuwait?
Gov. Kim Reynolds said while speaking to reporters on March 5 at the Iowa Capitol that she would attend the dignified transfer of the fallen Iowan soldiers killed by Iran.
“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.
On March 4, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also announced Trump’s plans to receive the soldiers’ bodies and meet with their families at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
Nunn also said he would attend and was postponing a planned fundraiser with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
The rest of Iowa’s congressional delegation has not announced whether they will attend the dignified transfer.
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 in December. 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 attack 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
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