Delaware, July 22 (ANI): U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday attended the dignified transfer of four U.S. service members killed in connection with the ongoing war with Iran at Dover Air Force Base, according to CNN.
Trump was accompanied by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine during the ceremony. He was also scheduled to meet privately with the families of the fallen service members before the transfer. A White House official said it was the third dignified transfer the president has attended since the conflict began.
Speaking to reporters before departing Joint Base Andrews, Trump said the ceremony was intended to honor the sacrifice of the troops.
“We honour our heroes, and they are indeed great heroes. Actually, they said, and all of them said very strongly, we can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.
Emphasizing the solemn responsibility of receiving the remains of fallen service members, Trump added, “For me, it’s one of the hardest things to do as a president, but has to be done.”
Asked what he would tell the families during the private meetings, Trump said, “All I’m going to say is, we love you. We love your child, and that’s what they are to them. They’re their children. No games, no nothing.”
According to CNN, the four service members are among the 18 U.S. troops killed in connection with the conflict with Iran.
The fallen include Lt. Tyler Feehan of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, who was killed on July 18 in Jordan while serving with the 2nd Battalion, 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, who graduated from high school last spring before enlisting in the Army, was killed in the July 17 strike on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was killed on July 19 during a controlled detonation of a downed Iranian drone in Iraq, the Defense Department said.
The fourth service member, Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, 28, was also killed in the same strike in Jordan. She served as a 25U Signal Operations Support Specialist with the 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade, stationed in Ansbach, Germany.
CNN reported that three of the four service members were killed in an Iranian strike on a military base in Jordan, while Swinton died during a controlled detonation operation involving a downed Iranian drone in northern Iraq.
Asked about the circumstances surrounding the deaths, Trump declined to comment on the ongoing investigation but said Iran would face consequences.
“They’re being decimated,” Trump said, adding that an investigation into the incident in Jordan is underway and that Iran would “pay a big price,” according to CNN. (ANI)
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