Pentagon releases names of final two soldiers of six killed in Kuwait | US-Israel war on Iran
The Pentagon has released the names of the last two of six soldiers killed in a recent drone strike in Kuwait. They were killed on Sunday, the day after the launch of American and Israeli strikes against Iran. Their names were released Wednesday by the US Department of Defense.
The two soldiers were identified as Chief Warrant Officer Robert Marzan, 54, and Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45. They were from Sacramento, California, and Indianola, Iowa, respectively.
O’Brien earned several awards and decorations during his service, including the Army Achievement Medal and the Military Service Ribbon, the Department of Defense said in a statement.
The U.S. Army Reserve said it would investigate the incident that led to their deaths and that of Capt. Cody Khork, 35; Sergeant Nicole Amor, 39 years old; Sergeant Declan Coady, 20; and Sgt Noah Tietjens, 42, who were identified Tuesday.
The Pentagon said Marzan was on the scene when a drone strike hit the command center in Kuwait and “is believed to be the individual who perished at the scene,” according to the statement. A medical examiner will confirm the identification, the Pentagon said.
“We pray for the full recovery of those injured and send our immense love and eternal gratitude to the families of the victims,” Donald Trump said in a video statement Sunday upon news of the deaths. “And unfortunately there will probably be more before the end. It is what it is, there will probably be more, but we will do everything we can where that won’t be the case.”
Since Saturday, US and Israeli forces have carried out large-scale strikes across Iran, including against the compound of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on Saturday. Iran responded with retaliatory strikes, launching missiles targeting Israel and US military installations in the region, including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
According to the Iranian Red Crescent emergency services, at least 787 people have been killed in Iran since Saturday. In Israel, authorities said at least 10 people were killed.
On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department announced a series of charter flights for Americans looking to leave countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
In a statement, a department spokesperson said the government has helped more than 9,000 Americans leave the Middle East and received requests for help from another 3,000 citizens seeking to return to the United States.
Since the names of the first four soldiers were released, details about their lives and the pride they felt in their military service have been revealed.
Armor, the mother of a high school student and a fourth-grader, was days away from coming to see her children and spouse, her husband told The Associated Press. “She was almost home,” said her husband, Joey Amor. “You don’t go to Kuwait thinking something is going to happen, and for her to be one of the first, it hurts.”
Coady, a cybersecurity student at Drake University in Des Moines, was visiting his family from Kuwait every hour or two after the United States and Israel launched their military campaign against Iran, even as Iran launched retaliatory strikes.
When he didn’t respond to messages Sunday, “most of us started wondering,” Coady’s father, Andrew, told the Associated Press. “Your instincts are starting to get an idea.”
Khork, whose family described him as “the life of the party” to the Associated Press, wanted to be in the military since he was a child and was part of Florida Southern College’s ROTC program. “This commitment helped shape the course of his life and reflected the deep sense of duty that was always at the heart of who he was,” said his mother, Donna Burhans; father, James Khork; and his mother-in-law, Stacey Khork, said in a statement.
Tietjens, from a military family, previously served alongside his father in Kuwait, the Associated Press reports. “We lost a brave soldier this weekend and many hearts are broken,” his cousin Kaylyn Golike wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
