DOVER, Del. — President Trump is scheduled to be at Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday for the dignified transfer of four U.S. service members who lost their lives fighting in the Middle East.
The White House confirmed Trump will be present when the remains of the fallen troops are brought home to their families. The solemn ceremony is among the most meaningful responsibilities a commander-in-chief carries. It will be the third such transfer Trump has attended since the conflict with Iran began in February.
According to an administration official who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, two Army soldiers killed in Iranian missile and drone strikes in Jordan will be part of the transfer. The official also confirmed that a third service member — believed to be a soldier who went missing following the Jordan attacks — will also be returned, along with the remains of a soldier killed in Iraq during the detonation of an Iranian drone.
Speaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said, “I’ll be going to Dover for something that I feel is — it’s a great honor for me to do it.”
The Defense Department has identified the two soldiers killed in Jordan as Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas. The soldier who vanished after the Jordan attacks and is now believed to be dead has been identified as Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York. The soldier killed in Iraq was identified as Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Spring Lake, North Carolina.
On Sunday, Trump addressed reporters about the losses, saying, “We feel very badly, but you know, those great people, those great patriots were out there fighting so that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.” He added that U.S. strikes against Iran were being carried out “in honor” of the fallen service members.
The United States has launched a series of retaliatory strikes against Iran as a temporary agreement aimed at ending the conflict has collapsed. On Monday, Trump declared that every time Iran kills an American soldier, “they will pay for that killing many times over!”
Since the war began on February 28, a total of 18 U.S. service members have been killed.
Trump also commented Tuesday on the attacks in Jordan, saying that while nearly all incoming fire was intercepted, some got through. “They did slip something through in Jordan,” he said. “If we had other operators, you know, it would have not happened, unfortunately.”
He continued: “We’ve stopped almost everything, but when you let other people do your job with the United States — we let other people do the job — and sometimes it doesn’t work out so well.” Trump did not clarify who he was referring to as being responsible for protecting U.S. forces in Jordan.
This is Trump’s third dignified transfer attendance since the start of the war, with the most recent being in March. During his first term in office, he described the ceremony as “the toughest thing I have to do” as president.
During a dignified transfer, flag-draped transfer cases carrying the remains of fallen service members are carried off the military aircraft that transported them and placed into vehicles headed to the mortuary facility at the base, where the soldiers are prepared for burial.
Feehan, a first lieutenant who died Saturday, will be posthumously promoted to captain and honored with the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Combat Action Badge. He was assigned from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command.
Gonzales, a private who was killed Friday, served with the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command based in Ansbach, Germany. School officials confirmed she graduated last year from Hebron High School in Carrollton, near Dallas.
Rampersad, a sergeant believed to have been killed in Friday’s attacks, was also assigned to the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Ansbach, Germany, specifically with the 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade.
Swinton, a sergeant killed Sunday, will be posthumously promoted to staff sergeant and awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Combat Action Badge. He joined the Army in 2017 and was assigned to the 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
