Trump salutes as 6 soldiers killed in Iran are flown back to US

President Trump participated Saturday in a dignified transfer of six service members who died in the early days of the war with Iran.

Trump, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, attended the transfer of Americans killed in action at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

The fallen soldiers were identified by the Department of Defense as Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, Staff Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, sergeant. 1st class Nicole Love39, sergeant. Declan J. Coady20, Major Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54.

“I’m glad we paid our respects,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after the handoff. “It’s a tough situation…great people, great parents, wives and families.”

The president said military parents were proud and added that the war is going “incredibly” and “as well as it can be.”

When asked by a Washington Post reporter about the possibility that he would have to return to Dover for more dignified transfers, Trump said, “…I’d hate to do it, but it’s part of the war, right?”

“Wouldn’t you say it’s part of the war?” he asked the journalist. “It’s the sad part of war, the bad part of war.”

The six service members were killed during an attack on an unmanned aircraft system in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, on Sunday, March 1, the Department of Defense said.

All were members of the 103rd Sustainment Command, based in Des Moines, Iowa. The unit provides food, supplies and other logistical support to the Army.

Shortly after landing in Dover, Trump was greeted by officials including Col. Jamil Musa, commander of the 436th Airlift Wing, and Col. Martha “Jeannie” Sasnett, commander of Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations.

Earlier on Saturday, while addressing Latin American leaders in Miami, Trump called the soldiers’ deaths a “very sad situation” and said service members were “coming home in a different way than they thought they would come home.”

“But they are great heroes in our country and we’re going to keep it that way,” Trump said.

The dignified transfer, a ritual that returns the remains of U.S. service members killed in combat, is considered one of the most somber duties of any commander in chief. During his first term, Trump called participating in the transfer “the hardest thing I have to do” as president.

Once the dignified transfer is complete, Trump will return to Mar-a-Lago.