Four of the six US soldiers killed in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait on Sunday have been named by the US Department of Defence.
They have been named as Captain Cody Khork, 35; Sergeant First Class Nicole Amor, 39; Sergeant First Class Noah Tietjens, 42, and Sergeant Declan Coady, 20.
Later, Chief Warrant Officer Robert Marzan and Major Jeffrey O’Brien were also named among the US service members killed.
They were the first Americans to die in the war with Iran when they were killed a day after the US and Israel launched their military campaign against Tehran, when an “unmanned aircraft system” hit a makeshift operations centre in Shuaiba port, Kuwait.
The US Department of Defence said the incident is under investigation.
The soldiers were members of the Army Reserve, assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, which provides food, fuel, water, ammunition, transport equipment and supplies.
“These men and women all bravely volunteered to defend our country, and their sacrifice will never be forgotten,” Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said.
US President Donald Trump said “there will likely be more” deaths of US soldiers when he addressed the deaths on Sunday. “That’s how it is”, he added.
Here is what we know about the US service members who were killed on Sunday.
Captain Cody Khork
Khork, from Lakeland, Florida, was very patriotic and drawn to serving in the US military from a young age, his family said in a statement on Tuesday.
He enlisted in the National Guard in 2009. He commissioned as a military police officer in the Army Reserve in 2014 and deployed to Saudi Arabia, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Poland.
Behind his sense of duty was “a man whose life was defined by devotion, character, and service,” his parents and stepmother said.
“Cody was truly the life of the party, known for his infectious spirit, generous heart, and deep care for those who served alongside him and for everyone blessed to know him,” the statement said.
Khork loved history and had a degree in political science, which showed “his sharp mind and his sincere appreciation for the principles and sacrifices that have shaped our nation,” they added.
One of Khork’s friends, Abbas Jaffer, posted on Facebook on Monday that he had lost the best person he had ever known.
“My best friend, best man, and brother gave his life defending our country overseas,” Jaffer said. Khork and Jaffer had been friends for more than 16 years.
His awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal and Joint Service Achievement Medal.
Sergeant First Class Nicole Amor
Amor, from White Bear Lake, Minnesota, was just days away from returning home to her husband and two children when the attack struck.
“She was almost home,” her husband, Joey Amor, said on Tuesday to the Associated Press. “You don’t go to Kuwait thinking something’s going to happen, and for her to be one of the first – it hurts.”
Her husband said he last spoke to his wife two hours before she was killed. He said she was working long shifts, and they had been messaging about her tripping and falling the night before. “She just never responded in the morning,” he said.
A week before the attack, Amor was moved off-base to a shipping container-style building with no defences, Joey said.
“They were dispersing because they were in fear that the base they were on was going to get attacked, and they felt it was safer in smaller groups in separate places.”
Amor was an avid gardener who enjoyed making salsa from the peppers and tomatoes in her garden with her son, who is in his last year of high school. She also enjoyed rollerblading and bicycling with her fourth-grade daughter.
She enlisted in the National Guard in 2005, transferred to the Army Reserve a year later, and deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019.
Amor’s decorations included the Army Commendation Medal, National Defence Service Medal and Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal.
Sergeant First Class Noah Tietjens
Tietjens from Bellevue, Nebraska, was a prominent member of a martial arts studio, which he attended along with his wife and son. He earned a black belt in Taekwondo and was also an instructor, according to a tribute posted by his studio.
“He did not simply wear a Black Belt, he lived it,” Martial Arts International said in the post, praising Tietjens as “a devoted husband and father.” The studio said a college fund has been established for Tietjens’ son.
On the mat and as a soldier, “he carried the same values: honour, discipline, service, and commitment to others,” the organisation said.
The Philippine Martial Arts Alliance also paid tribute to Tietjens, saying he was “an instructor who gave his time, discipline, and leadership to others”.
One of his fellow soldiers said Tietjens was “the kind of guy that was always around to help you”.
Army Staff Sgt. Jonn Coleman, a fellow Nebraska soldier, said Tietjens’ mentorship was the reason he was able to advance his military career, saying, “he made you feel important. And that’s hard to find sometimes in the military.”
“He took me under his wing and got me to where I needed to be.”
Tietjens enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2006 as a wheeled vehicle mechanic. He had deployed to Kuwait twice before, in 2009 and 2019.
Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen paid tribute to the family on Tuesday.
“Noah stepped up to serve and defend the American people from foreign enemies around the world — a sacrifice we must never forget,” he wrote.
“We are holding the Tietjens family close in our hearts during this unbelievably difficult time and will keep them in our prayers,” he said.
Tietjens’ awards and decorations also include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Medal.
Sergeant Declan Coady
Coady, from Des Moines, Iowa, had just told his father before the war started that he had been recommended for a promotion from specialist to sergeant, a rank he was posthumously awarded.
He was one of the youngest people in his class but seemed to impress his instructors, his father Andrew Coady said Tuesday.
“He was very good at what he did,” he said.
“I still don’t fully think it’s real,” his sister Keira Coady said. “I just remember all of our conversations about what he was going to do when he came back.”
Coady enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023, where he trained as an information technology specialist while also studying cybersecurity at Drake University in Des Moines. He was taking online classes while in Kuwait and wanted to become an officer.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds honoured Coady for his service, saying in a statement he “heroically answered his nation’s call to duty and gave the ultimate sacrifice.”
His awards include the Army Service Ribbon, National Defence Service Ribbon and Overseas Service Ribbon.
Chief Warrant Officer Robert Marzan
Marzan was a “pretty down-to-earth guy” but still “blunt and honest about what his thoughts were,” now-retired US Army colonel Josef Suje said. “I appreciate that as an attribute.”
Marzan, 54, was from Sacramento, California, and was also serving in support of the 1st Theater Sustainment Command.
Final identification by a medical examiner is still pending, the Pentagon said, though Marzan was present at the scene of the drone strike and is believed to have been killed in the attack.
Sujet, who served in the military for 33 years, said it’s “not common” that four service members – Marzan, O’Brien, Amor and Tietjens – would return years later to the same unit they served in together in 2019.
“It goes to show the camaraderie in the unit that we had, that these soldiers felt so comfortable with each other that they would actually go back six years later and they came in the same unit,” Sujet said.
Major Jeffrey O’Brien
Major Jeffrey O’Brien was “straightforward” and unafraid to speak his mind as a captain while deployed to Kuwait in 2019, Sujet said.
“He would tell me and give me his honest opinion on what I needed to know. He was very frank and he was technically confident, very professional.”
O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa, was killed while serving in support of the 1st Theater Sustainment Command, which oversees the resupply and sustainment of troops across the Middle East, according to the Pentagon.
He commissioned in the Army Reserve as a Signal Corps Officer in 2012. He received several awards and decorations, including the Army Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Army Superior Unit Award, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal.
Expressing her concerns in a written statement, Gov. Reynolds said: “Our hearts are broken by the deaths of Major Jeffrey O’Brien and Sergeant Declan Coady, two brave Iowa soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice to secure freedom and peace.”
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