Trump pays respects to 4 US service members killed in the Middle East
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President Donald Trump honored four U.S. service members killed in the Middle East during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday, the third such ceremony he has attended since launching the war in Iran in February. (AP Video: Tassanee Vejpongsa)
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President Donald Trump said Iran “is gonna pay a big price” before departing for Dover Air Force Base to attend the dignified transfer of four U.S. service members killed in the Middle East, calling it “one of the hardest things to do as a president.”
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President Donald Trump salutes as a U.S. Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Pvt. Isabella Gonzales of Carrollton, Texas, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. /Matt Rourke)
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A U.S. Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. /Matt Rourke)
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President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth salute as a U.S. Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Pvt. Isabella Gonzales of Carrollton, Texas, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. /Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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President Donald Trump, far right, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, second from right, attend the dignified transfer of four U.S. service members recently killed in the Middle East, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. /Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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A U.S. Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Pvt. Isabella Gonzales of Carrollton, Texas, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. /Matt Rourke)
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President Donald Trump honored four U.S. service members killed in the Middle East during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday, the third such ceremony he has attended since launching the war in Iran in February. (AP Video: Tassanee Vejpongsa)
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President Donald Trump said Iran “is gonna pay a big price” before departing for Dover Air Force Base to attend the dignified transfer of four U.S. service members killed in the Middle East, calling it “one of the hardest things to do as a president.”
3 of 7 |
President Donald Trump salutes as a U.S. Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Pvt. Isabella Gonzales of Carrollton, Texas, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. /Matt Rourke)
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President Donald Trump salutes as a U.S. Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Pvt. Isabella Gonzales of Carrollton, Texas, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. /Matt Rourke)
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A U.S. Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. /Matt Rourke)
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A U.S. Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. /Matt Rourke)
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President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth salute as a U.S. Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Pvt. Isabella Gonzales of Carrollton, Texas, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. /Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth salute as a U.S. Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Pvt. Isabella Gonzales of Carrollton, Texas, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. /Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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President Donald Trump, far right, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, second from right, attend the dignified transfer of four U.S. service members recently killed in the Middle East, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. /Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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President Donald Trump, far right, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, second from right, attend the dignified transfer of four U.S. service members recently killed in the Middle East, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. /Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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A U.S. Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Pvt. Isabella Gonzales of Carrollton, Texas, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. /Matt Rourke)
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A U.S. Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Pvt. Isabella Gonzales of Carrollton, Texas, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. /Matt Rourke)
By
MATT ROURKE, JULIA DEMAREE-NIKHINSON and COLLIN BINKLEY
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DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday honored the lives of four U.S. service members who were killed in the Middle East and returned to their families at an air force base in Delaware
The president saluted as four transfer cases carrying the service members’ remains were escorted off an airplane during the dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base. The ritual is one of the most somber duties of a commander in chief. It was the third that Trump has attended since he launched the war in Iran in February
Speaking at an event in Georgia hours later, Trump described the ritual as “the toughest thing I do.”
“I’ve been there many times before,” he said of Dover. “This was, in particular, something very sad.”
Earlier in the day, Trump said his message to families was simple: “We love you. We love your child,” Trump told reporters
Trump was accompanied at the dignified transfer by administration officials including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Also present were Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del
During the ritual, transfer cases draped with the American flag and holding the remains of the fallen soldiers are carried from the military aircraft that transported them to awaiting vehicles to take them to the mortuary facility at the base. There, the service members are prepared for their final resting place
Fallen troops came from Hawaii, Texas, New York and North Carolina
Two U.S. Army soldiers killed in Iranian missile and drone attacks in Jordan were returned during the dignified transfer. The remains of a third service member who is believed to be the soldier missing after the Jordan attacks were also returned, as well as the remains of a soldier killed in Iraq during a detonation of an Iranian drone
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The soldiers killed in Jordan were identified by the Defense Department as Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii; and Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas. The soldier who disappeared after the Jordan attacks is Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York, the Defense Department said
The soldier killed in Iraq was identified as Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, who lived in Spring Lake, North Carolina
Trump said Feehan’s family accepted an invitation to join him on Air Force One on Wednesday as he traveled to an event in Georgia, where the family lives. Speaking at the event in Marietta, Trump described Feehan as a “flawless” person who was “going all the way — he was going to be a general.”
“We will carry Tyler’s memory in our hearts forever, and I just want to thank you,” he told Feehan’s parents during his remarks. “It’s an honor to have you here today.”
Trump previously said the soldiers died while protecting America and other nations from Iran
“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,” Trump told reporters on Sunday. He added that the U.S. was striking Iran “in honor” of the fallen troops
Trump vows to retaliate for each US death
The U.S. has launched multiple retaliatory strikes against Iran as an interim agreement to end the war falls apart. Trump on Monday said that every time Iran kills an American soldier, “they will pay for that killing many times over!”
Since the war began on Feb. 28, 18 U.S. service members have been killed
Trump on Tuesday said that while almost all the incoming fire in Jordan was stopped, some made it through
“They did slip something through in Jordan,” he said. “If we had other operators, you know, it would have not happened, unfortunately.” He added that “we let other people do the job — and sometimes it doesn’t work out so well.”
Trump did not elaborate on his comments, and it was not immediately clear who he was saying was responsible for protecting U.S. forces in Jordan
Trump attended two previous dignified transfers since the outset of the war, most recently in March
Soldier had planned to marry fiance and attend law school
Feehan, a first lieutenant who was killed Saturday, will be posthumously promoted to the rank of captain and awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge. He was assigned out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command
Feehan’s family said in a statement that their hearts were shattered by his loss. They remembered Feehan, who went by “Tivo,” as someone who “packed in more living” in his 25 years than most do in a lifetime
“He chased adventure relentlessly,” the statement said. “He believed deeply in the power of military service, especially what it builds in a person: discipline, leadership, character.”
He planned to marry his fiance and attend law school after his deployment. The family said they’re starting a scholarship in his name
Gonzales, who was killed Friday, was a private with the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Ansbach, Germany. She graduated last year from Hebron High School in Carrollton, near Dallas, school officials said
Rampersad, a sergeant who was believed to have been killed in Friday’s attacks, was assigned to the 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Ansbach, Germany
In a brief statement, Rampersad’s family called her a “gentle giant” who “stood up for those who couldn’t fight for themselves.”
“She loved her family fiercely and will live on in the hearts of everyone she touched,” the statement said
Deonne Jinkins, 22, a friend, said Rampersad “loved deeply, cared genuinely, and always made people feel seen and important.”
Swinton, a sergeant who was killed Sunday, will receive a Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge, and will be promoted to staff sergeant. He enlisted in 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
Binkley reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Michael Catalini in Morrisville, Pa., and Sudhin Thanawala in Atlanta contributed to this report
COLLIN BINKLEY
