DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AP) 鈥� President Donald Trump on Wednesday honored the lives of four 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 in February.
Speaking at an event in Georgia hours later, Trump described the ritual as 鈥渢he toughest thing I do.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e been there many times before,” he said of Dover. 鈥淭his was, in particular, something very sad.鈥�
Earlier in the day, Trump said his message to families was simple: 鈥淲e 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.
The soldiers killed in Jordan were 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 , 28, of Ozone Park, New York, the Defense Department said.
The soldier killed in Iraq was identified as , 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 鈥渇lawless鈥� person who was 鈥済oing all the way 鈥� he was going to be a general.鈥�
鈥淲e will carry Tyler’s memory in our hearts forever, and I just want to thank you,” he told Feehan鈥檚 parents during his remarks. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an honor to have you here today.鈥�
Trump previously said the soldiers died while protecting America and other nations from Iran.
鈥淲e feel very badly, but you know, those great people, those great patriots were out there fighting so that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,鈥� Trump told reporters on Sunday. He added that the U.S. was striking Iran 鈥渋n honor鈥� 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, 鈥渢hey will pay for that killing many times over!鈥�
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.
鈥淭hey did slip something through in Jordan,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f we had other operators, you know, it would have not happened, unfortunately.鈥� He added that “we let other people do the job 鈥� and sometimes it doesn鈥檛 work out so well.鈥�
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, .
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鈥檚 family said in a statement that their hearts were shattered by his loss. They remembered Feehan, who went by 鈥淭ivo,鈥� as someone who 鈥減acked in more living鈥� in his 25 years than most do in a lifetime.
鈥淗e chased adventure relentlessly,鈥� the statement said. 鈥淗e believed deeply in the power of military service, especially what it builds in a person: discipline, leadership, character.鈥�
He planned to marry his fiance and attend law school after his deployment. The family said they鈥檙e 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鈥檚 family called her a 鈥済entle giant鈥� who 鈥渟tood up for those who couldn鈥檛 fight for themselves.鈥�
鈥淪he loved her family fiercely and will live on in the hearts of everyone she touched,鈥� the statement said.
Deonne Jinkins, 22, a friend, said Rampersad 鈥渓oved deeply, cared genuinely, and always made people feel seen and important.鈥�
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.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
