President Donald Trump on Saturday attended the dignified transfer of six members of the Army Reserve who died in action during Operation Epic Fury in Iran.
Trump, along with First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and War Secretary Pete Hegseth, joined grieving families at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to pay respects to the fallen soldiers.
Trump saluted each flag-draped transfer case with the service members’ remains as they were carried from the military aircraft to awaiting vehicles. From there, they were taken to a mortuary facility at the base, where they will be prepared for their final resting place.
The president did not speak during the dignified transfer, which lasted about a half hour, and the families were largely silent as they observed the ritual.
The dignified transfer returns the remains of U.S. service members killed in action, and is a long-held tradition that is considered one of the most somber duties of any commander in chief.
“It’s a very sad day,” the president told reporters on Air Force One later on Saturday afternoon, saying that he was “glad we paid our respects.” He said the relatives of the soldiers’ families are “great people, great parents, wives, family” and said that the “parents were so proud.”
All six soldiers were killed by a drone strike at a command center in Kuwait the day after the United States and Israel launched the military operation against Iran.
Trump, earlier on Saturday at a summit with Latin American leaders in Miami, said the fallen service members were heroes “coming home in a different manner than they thought they’d be coming home.” He described it as a “very sad situation” and pledged to keep American war deaths “to a minimum.”
The service members were all from the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines, Iowa.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a combat veteran, had also planned to attend the dignified transfer.
“These soldiers engaged in the most noble mission: protecting their fellow Americans and keeping our homeland secure,” Ernst said earlier in the week. “Our nation owes them an incredible debt of gratitude that can never be repaid.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
