Trump honours six US soldiers killed in Kuwait

Under a grey afternoon sky at Dover Air Force Base the silence on the flight line was broken only by the slow steps of an honour guard carrying transfer cases draped in the American flagPresident Donald Trump stood at attention raising his hand in salute as each case bearing the remains of fallen soldiers was carried past him families of the dead watching quietly nearbyTrump on Saturday attended the dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to honour six US Army soldiers killed in a hostile incident in Kuwait The president walked onto the flight line at 309 pm Eastern Time The solemn process concluded at 341 pm with the call ldquoFlight Line DismissedrdquoTrump wore a navy suit and red tie along with a white ball cap bearing the word ldquoUSArdquo in gold lettering He saluted as each transfer case was carried from the aircraft by the military honour guard The front row of officials included Trump First Lady Melania Trump Vice President JD Vance and Usha Vance Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Dan Caine stood nearbyIn the second row were White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Attorney General Pam Bondi Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll were also present along with US Army Chief of Staff Gen Randy GeorgeMembers of Congress and state officials joined the families of the fallen soldiers Among those present were Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester Joni Ernst Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts as well as Governors Ron DeSantis of Florida Jim Pillen of Nebraska and Kim Reynolds of Iowa Family members of the six soldiers stood close to the flight line as the transfer cases were carried out one by oneThe soldiers were identified as Maj Jeffery R OrsquoBrien of Indianola Iowa Capt Cody A Khork of Winter Haven Florida Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M Marzan of Sacramento California Sgt 1st Class Nicole M Amor of White Bear Lake Minnesota Sgt 1st Class Noah L Tietjens of Bellevue Nebraska and Sgt Declan J Coady of West Des Moines IowaMost of the soldiers were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines Iowa Officials said the six service members were killed in a hostile incident at Port Shuaiba in Kuwait According to Dover Air Force Base officials the remains of fallen service members are transported in transfer cases used to carry them to the base The transfer cases are not coffins or casketsAfter a service member has been identified and prepared for return to family members the remains are placed in a casket and transported to their final resting place The transfer at Dover is described as a solemn process rather than a ceremony Dover Air Force Base serves as the main arrival point for US military personnel killed overseas Its mortuary affairs facility has handled the return of thousands of American service members since the Vietnam WarDignified transfers are a longstanding military tradition in which senior officials and families gather on the flight line to honour troops who died in combat or hostile incidents while serving abroadThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever