Trump attends Dover transfer for four soldiers killed in Middle East
President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth honored four Army soldiers killed in Jordan and Iraq during the war with Iran.
By Sal Moretti · Money Reporter
2 min read
President Trump stood at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday for the return of four U.S. Army soldiers killed in the Middle East in recent days during the war with Iran.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth joined Trump for the dignified transfer, the solemn military movement of fallen service members back to the United States from an overseas theater.
The service members honored were Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Hawaii; Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Texas; Sgt. Angel Rampersad, 28, of New York; and Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of North Carolina.
The Pentagon said Feehan and Gonzales were killed in action during strikes on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. The Trump administration is investigating the attacks at that base, which also led to Rampersad initially being listed as missing.
U.S. Central Command had announced Rampersad as missing in action, then updated her status Tuesday to whereabouts unknown. She is believed to have been killed, according to the command’s update as reported by CBS News.
Swinton, described by CBS News as a father of two, was killed at Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq during the controlled detonation of an Iranian drone.
Trump calls the duty one of the hardest parts of the job
Before leaving for Dover, Trump told reporters he was going to honor the soldiers and called them heroes.
“We’re going to Dover,” Trump said. “Some of you are going with us, to honor our heroes, and they are indeed great heroes, actually.”
The president linked the deaths to the administration’s position on Iran’s nuclear program, saying the service members had believed Iran must not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
“They won’t have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “So we’re going to honor them. And it’s one of the hardest things to do. For me, it’s one of the hardest things to do as a president. But, has to be done.”
Trump also told reporters Wednesday that the administration would release the findings of its investigation into the Jordan attacks.
The fallen soldiers
- Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Hawaii
- Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Texas
- Sgt. Angel Rampersad, 28, of New York
- Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of North Carolina
A dignified transfer is not a public funeral or a ceremonial service. It is the military’s formal return of a fallen U.S. service member from abroad, with remains carried in flag-draped transfer cases by uniformed personnel.
Presidents and senior administration officials commonly attend dignified transfers at Dover, a base long associated with the return of American war dead.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.