2 U.S. soldiers killed in Kuwait identified as:
Maj. Jeffrey R. O'Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California.
4 U.S. soldiers killed in Kuwait identified as:
Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska.
Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa.
Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida.
Stephen N. Miller: America First means America will be the Greatest, most unquestioned, unmatched Power in the World and it means we will defend American lives and, yes, we will avenge American Blood.
U.S. Department of War: Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Ky., died of his wounds on March 8, 2026, from injuries sustained during an enemy attack on March 1, 2026, at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia.
The family of Army Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, one of the first six U.S. servicemembers killed in Operation Epic Fury, released the following statement:
Saturday, Feb 28, at 4 a.m. we woke up to a text from Declan saying he was safe, at the time none of us had comprehended what had started happening. However, throughout the rest of the day we received updates from Declan saying he was safe. On Sunday, March 1, after trying to check in, we heard nothing. Trying to be positive we all assumed he was just in a situation where he couldn't message back, but we all knew something was wrong. At 8 p.m. as we all were getting ready to go to bed, the doorbell rang, and the rest of that night will forever be one of the worst nights of our lives. While it's all blurry, we all knew what the doorbell meant.Declan was killed that morning in Kuwait by an airstrike. He sustained injuries and died on the way to the hospital. As his older sister, I can't quite comprehend it even now, but the only thing I can think is that I wish I had called him one more time and told him I loved him. I wish that I had been able to be there or trade places with him or anything just so he could have known he was safe and that we loved him and he didn't need to be scared. He was 20 years old when he left for Kuwait in August, and 20 years old when he died. He was supposed to be 21 on May 5. He was just a baby, and will forever be mine and Aidan's baby brother, Rowan's older brother, and our parents' son.Trying to find any words at all to describe Declan feels impossible at this moment. However, to say what my mom would say is, "He was so kind and so amazing, and he was my baby." Declan did quite a lot growing up. He did swim team with the North Side Otters and Valley High School, he was a fencer, and he was an Eagle Scout. Outside of that he loved gaming, while in Kuwait he was shipping home pieces so that when he came home he could build his own PC to not only play games but continue working in IT and cyber security. He was an avid gym goer, and was constantly telling us about a new PR he had hit. He also loved anime, specifically One Piece and was somehow caught up on the show, and I had promised him that I would finally watch it this year for him. While at Drake University, he was a part of the ROTC program and from what we've heard they all cared about him and said he was an amazing member of their unit.Declan was a man of few words more often than not, but if you ever had the chance to talk to him about something he was passionate about you were lucky. He was so smart and could just talk your ear off for hours about what he loved, and while we may not have always known what terms or acronyms he was throwing out we would always listen because we all loved to just hear him speak.It's hard to say anything because those that don't know him will just know him as another person that died in combat and their lives will go on. However, for my family, my parents lost a son, and me and my siblings lost a brother. I remember after receiving the news I tried calling him on his Iowa phone number which had been disconnected and on his WhatsApp number in hopes of it all being an awful dream and maybe I would hear his voice telling us he was safe like he had been saying all weekend, but there was nothing, not even a voicemail.I wish I could think of words beyond that he was smart and kind and amazing, but even if I were to throw in other words it still wouldn't quite capture his spirit. He was truly a rock in all of our lives and was just the most amazing brother and son my family could have asked for.