The U.S. military on Monday identified two soldiers killed in action last week as part of the war with Iran, including a 19-year-old soldier from North Texas.
The Defense Department identified the soldiers as Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, and 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii. The soldiers were killed during Iranian strikes at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, where they were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S. mission against the Islamic State group.
The Defense Department did not provide details on the exact circumstances of their deaths.
Gonzales was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 10th Army Air Missile Defense Command in Ansbach, Germany. Feehan was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 32nd Army Air Missile Defense Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott mourned Gonzales’ death in a statement Monday.
“Texas mourns the loss of Army Pvt. Isabella Gonzales of Carrollton, killed in action serving our nation in Jordan. She was just 19 years old. Her courage and sacrifice represent the very best of Texas,” Abbott said.
“Cecilia and I pray for her family, and for the family of 1st Lt. Tyler Feehan of Hawaii. Our nation is forever indebted to them both. God bless our fallen heroes, and God bless Texas,” he added.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also released a statement honoring Gonzales.
“Today, we lift up and honor the family of Private Isabella Gonzales. We pray that your hearts find comfort during this difficult time. This is such a tragic loss. Thank you for your service, Pvt. Gonzales, from a grateful Nation,” Paxton said.
President Donald Trump will attend the dignified transfer of the fallen service members Tuesday evening at Dover Air Force Base, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday. Leavitt said the president and the entire White House are praying for their families.
On Saturday, U.S. Central Command said two service members were killed in Jordan while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks.
The U.S. military has said the total number of deaths in the war with Iran is 17.
The deaths reflect the complicated reality that American soldiers don’t need to be on the ground in Iran for there to be lethal risks in a conflict that involves drones, missiles and airplanes. American forces are arrayed across the Middle East, making other nations targets of Iran as the fighting has escalated after a breakdown in peace talks.
President Trump has said the war is necessary to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
The Department of War has identified the two active-duty soldiers killed by airstrike in Jordan on Friday, and one of them is from North Texas. NBC 5’s Larry Collins tells us the details.
First fatalities came soon after the war started
Shortly after the war began on Feb. 28, an Iranian drone strike at a civilian port in Kuwait killed six American soldiers. The soldiers were part of a supply and logistics unit based in Iowa who were working at a shipping container-style building that had no defenses.
A seventh soldier died more than a week after being wounded during a March 1 attack by Iran on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
Later in March, six service members were killed when a KC-135 refueling aircraft supporting U.S. military operations against Iran crashed in Iraq. The aircraft was in “friendly” airspace when an unspecified incident involving another aircraft took place, according to U.S. Central Command.
On Monday, the U.S. military said a Navy pilot died in a helicopter crash in the Arabian Sea. The Navy initially described the July 1 crash as an emergency landing and said there was “no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action.” The remaining three sailors aboard the helicopter were rescued.
U.S. service members killed in the Iran war
Drones and missiles still claiming lives
The latest U.S. military death from the conflict was on Saturday in northern Iraq, where an American service member was killed during a “controlled detonation” of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian drone, U.S. Central Command said Sunday. A second service member was wounded and was receiving medical treatment for a minor injury.
The military said it was withholding additional information until 24 hours after the service member’s family had been notified.
The deaths in the war are not limited to Americans.
Iranian authorities said at least 50 people have been killed and more than 500 wounded in U.S. strikes in the past three weeks, including eight killed in a strike on a bridge Friday.
People working on ships, as well as foreign workers and others in Gulf nations, Israel and Lebanon have also died in the conflict.