The president will join military officials and grieving families Wednesday as the remains of four soldiers killed in Iranian attacks in Jordan and Iraq return to the United States.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump will travel to Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday to attend the dignified transfer of four U.S. Army service members killed during attacks in Jordan and Iraq, the White House announced.
The ceremony will mark the third dignified transfer Trump has attended since the United States launched its war against Iran in February.
Trump will be present as military personnel carry the flag-draped transfer cases containing the soldiers’ remains from the aircraft that brought them home and place them in vehicles bound for the base’s mortuary facility.
“I’ll be going to Dover for something that I feel is — it’s a great honor for me to do it,” Trump said Tuesday in the Oval Office.
Two of the soldiers were killed in Iranian missile and drone attacks in Jordan, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the transfer publicly.
The remains of a third soldier who disappeared following the Jordan attacks and is now believed to have died will also be returned.
The fourth service member was killed in Iraq during the detonation of an Iranian drone.
The War Department identified the soldiers killed in Jordan as 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas.
Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York, disappeared after the attacks in Jordan and is now believed to be deceased, the department said.
Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Spring Lake, North Carolina, was killed in Iraq.
Trump expressed condolences for the fallen troops Sunday while describing their deaths as part of the U.S. effort to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
“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.
He said the United States was carrying out strikes against Iran “in honor” of the service members who had been killed.
The U.S. military has launched multiple retaliatory attacks against Iran as an interim agreement intended to end the war has deteriorated.
Trump warned Monday that Iran would face an overwhelming response for every American service member killed.
Every time Iran kills an American soldier, “they will pay for that killing many times over!” Trump said.
Eighteen U.S. service members have been killed since the war began Feb. 28, according to the information provided.
Trump said Tuesday that American and allied defenses intercepted nearly all of the incoming missiles and drones targeting U.S. forces in Jordan, but some weapons penetrated the defensive system.
“They did slip something through in Jordan,” Trump said. “If we had other operators, you know, it would have not happened, unfortunately.”
He continued by suggesting that responsibility for part of the defensive operation had been assigned to others, though he did not identify whom he meant.
“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 said.
The president did not elaborate, leaving it unclear whether he was referring to Jordanian forces, allied military personnel, contractors or another group responsible for protecting American troops.
Wednesday’s transfer will be Trump’s third since the beginning of the Iran war. He most recently attended one in March.
During his first presidential term, Trump described attending dignified transfers as “the toughest thing I have to do” as commander-in-chief.
The ceremony at Dover is conducted with strict military precision and is intended to honor the fallen while returning them to the custody of their families.
Service members carry each transfer case from the military transport aircraft to an awaiting vehicle. The remains are then taken to the mortuary at Dover Air Force Base, where they are prepared for burial or transfer to their final resting place.
Families may choose whether news organizations are permitted to photograph or record the ceremony.
Feehan, who was killed Saturday, will receive a posthumous promotion from first lieutenant to captain.
He will also be awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge.
Feehan was assigned to the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command and served out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Gonzales was killed Friday while serving as a private with the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Ansbach, Germany.
She graduated in 2025 from Hebron High School in Carrollton, near Dallas, according to school officials.
Rampersad, a sergeant believed to have been killed in Friday’s attacks, was also stationed in Ansbach.
He was assigned to the 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, which operates under the 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade and the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command.
Swinton was killed Sunday in Iraq when an Iranian drone detonated.
He will be awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge and will receive a posthumous promotion to staff sergeant.
Swinton enlisted in the Army in 2017.
He was assigned to the 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment within the 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade at Fort Bragg.
The four soldiers served in air and missile defense units responsible for detecting and intercepting incoming threats against American forces and installations.
Their deaths came as Iran increased missile and drone attacks against U.S. positions and the Trump administration expanded retaliatory operations.
Feehan, Gonzales and Rampersad were all involved in air defense operations in Jordan, while Swinton was serving in Iraq when he was killed.
The administration has not provided additional details about the specific installations targeted, the number of incoming weapons or the circumstances under which the attacks penetrated defenses.
Trump’s remarks indicated that most of the attack against the Jordan position had been intercepted before the remaining weapons reached the American troops.
The dignified transfer will bring together the president, senior defense officials, military honor guards and the families of the four soldiers.
The ceremony is not a funeral, but it represents the first formal step in returning fallen service members to their loved ones after they arrive on American soil.
For Trump, the event comes as he weighs additional military action against Iran following the collapse of efforts to sustain an interim peace agreement.
The administration has characterized the retaliatory campaign as necessary to protect American forces and prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Iran’s attacks and the growing U.S. death toll have increased pressure on the White House to explain the war’s objectives, defensive failures and path toward a lasting end to the conflict.
Wednesday’s ceremony will focus instead on the four soldiers and the families awaiting their return.
Feehan, Gonzales, Rampersad and Swinton will arrive at Dover under American flags and with the formal military honors reserved for service members who die while serving their country.
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