A 30-year-old husband and father of two. A 25-year-old officer just weeks away from earning his MBA. A 19-year-old recent high school graduate. And a 28-year-old from Queens, New York, with a \u201cradiant smile\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Pentagon this week identified three American service members who were killed, and a fourth believed to have been killed, in the Middle East over the past week amid an escalation<\/a> in attacks <\/a>between the United States and Iranian forces.<\/p>\n Their deaths bring the number of US troops killed since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran in late February to 18,<\/a> and hundreds of troops have also been injured, including nearly 100<\/a> since 7 July alone<\/a>. The Pentagon has said<\/a> that 96% of the nearly 100 injured since early July have since returned to duty.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Donald Trump attended the dignified<\/a> transfer of the US service members at Dover airforce base in Delaware.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a look at the four service members the Pentagon identified this week:<\/p>\n Michael Swinton, 30<\/p>\n On Tuesday, the Pentagon announced<\/a> the death of Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, who officials said was an active-duty soldier who was \u201csupporting overseas operations in Iraq\u201d.<\/p>\n The Pentagon said that Swinton was killed<\/a> in action in northern Iraq over the weekend during the disposal of what the military described on Sunday as a \u201cdowned Iranian one-way attack drone<\/a>\u201d at Erbil airbase in Iraq. The incident, which officials described as a \u201ccontrolled detonation\u201d, is under investigation.<\/p>\n The Pentagon said that Swinton was assigned to D battery, 2nd battalion, 55th air defense artillery regiment, 108th air defense artillery brigade at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.<\/p>\n His wife, Mia Gonzalez-Swinton, described him in a message to the Guardian as \u201can amazing man\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had an impact on anyone that crossed paths with him,\u201d she said. \u201cHe was an amazing father, and amazing leader. He cared and loved hard for everyone in his life.\u201d<\/p>\n Swinton leaves behind two children: a four-year-old daughter, and a six-year-old son, she said.<\/p>\n The military said <\/a>that Swinton enlisted in the US army in 2017 as a 14H air defense early warning system operator, and that he reclassified as a 14E patriot fire control enhanced operator\/maintainer.<\/p>\n Sgt Michael Emmanuel Swinton with his daughter. Photograph: Courtesy Mia Gonzalez-Swinton<\/p>\n The US army said<\/a> that Swinton would be posthumously promoted to staff sergeant.<\/p>\n Swinton\u2019s mother, Christel Swinton Andujar, told the Guardian that her son was the kind of person who could \u201clight up any room\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had a contagious laugh, an incredible sense of humor, and loved making people smile,\u201d she said in a message. \u201cHe was a true jokester who believed life was meant to be lived to the fullest.\u201d<\/p>\n She described him as \u201cadventurous and fearless\u201d and as someone who was \u201calways ready for the next challenge\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHe embraced life with courage, confidence, and a willingness to take risks,\u201d she said. \u201cBut beneath that adventurous spirit was a man of unwavering loyalty and strength.\u201d<\/p>\n Above all, she said, \u201cMichael\u2019s greatest love was his family,\u201d adding that his wife, Mia, and two children, \u201cwere the center of his world\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cMichael was the most patient and loving father I have ever known,\u201d she said. \u201cHe cherished every moment with his children, making them feel safe, valued, and deeply loved. He carried that same gentle heart into being an uncle. His nieces and nephews adored him because he always made time for them, encouraged them, and made them laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n To so many, she said that \u201cMichael wasn\u2019t just a hero because he wore the uniform \u2013 he was a hero because of the way he loved, protected, encouraged, and inspired everyone around him.<\/p>\n \u201cHis legacy will live on through the countless lives he touched, the laughter he shared, the strength he gave others, and the unconditional love he poured into his family. He will forever be missed, forever honored, and forever our hero,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Tyler Feehan, 25<\/p>\n First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, was supporting overseas operations in Jordan and was killed in an Iranian attack<\/a> at Muwaffaq Salti airbase in Jordan last week.<\/p>\n The US army said<\/a> Feehan enlisted in the US army in 2019 as a 12B combat engineer with the Hawaii army national guard and later commissioned as an active-duty air defense artillery officer in 2024, and was assigned to 2nd battalion, 55th air defense artillery regiment, 32nd army air and missile defense command, as a platoon leader at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.<\/p>\n The US army said that Feehan would be posthumously promoted to the rank of captain.<\/p>\n Southern Utah University said in a statement<\/a> that Feehan was both a SUU graduate and current student in the school\u2019s MBA program. The university said that he was just weeks away from earning his MBA from the school. His degree will be awarded posthumously.<\/p>\n \u2018First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, was supporting overseas operations in Jordan and was killed in an Iranian attack at Muwaffaq Salti airbase in Jordan last week.\u2019 Photograph: Courtesy Feehan family<\/p>\n In a statement sent to the Guardian, Feehan\u2019s parents, Shari and Stephen Feehan, said that their hearts \u201care shattered\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOur son, our \u2018Tivo,\u2019 was taken from us far too soon \u2013 alongside other American heroes lost or wounded in this same tragic attack,\u201d they said. \u201cIn just 25 years, Tyler packed in more living than most people manage in a lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe chased adventure relentlessly, whether it meant reaching Everest Base Camp or walking the Camino de Santiago across France and into Spain,\u201d they said. \u201cAs a leader, he never wavered in putting his soldiers first \u2013 mentoring them, sharing his love of finance, and pushing the value of education every chance he got.\u201d<\/p>\n His parents said Feehan \u201cbelieved deeply in the power of military service, especially what it builds in a person: discipline, leadership, character. Everyone who knew him loved him.<\/p>\n \u201cBehind him, he leaves a family in mourning \u2013 his parents, his fianc\u00e9e who was to become his wife upon his return from deployment, four sets of grandparents, and a wide circle of aunts, uncles, and cousins who adored him,\u201d they added. \u201cLaw school was next on his list, a goal he talked about with the same confidence he quoted from Legally Blonde: \u2018What, like it\u2019s hard?\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cTyler, we are proud of you beyond words \u2013 devastated, yes, but prouder still,\u201d they said, adding that \u201cno parents could have asked for a better son, and carrying your legacy forward is now our purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n They concluded their statement, saying that \u201cwe ask only this: that in remembering Tyler, people pause to see the good this country still holds, rather than what divides it\u201d and said that they were building a scholarship in their son\u2019s name, \u201cone meant to open doors to education for those who serve or hope to\u201d.<\/p>\n Isabella Gonzales, 19<\/p>\n Private Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, was also killed in the Iranian attack<\/a> at Muwaffaq Salti airbase in Jordan.<\/p>\n Gonzales was assigned to 1st battalion, 57th air defense artillery regiment, 52nd air defense artillery brigade, 10th army air missile defense command in Ansbach, Germany, the Pentagon said.<\/p>\n Gonzales graduated from Hebron high school in Carrollton, Texas, in 2025, and joined the US army after.<\/p>\n In a statement to the Guardian, the Lewisville independent school district said:\u201cShe gave her life in [army] service, and our district is heartbroken by her loss.\u201d<\/p>\n Anthony Tapia and Isabella Gonzales. Photograph: Courtesy Anthony Tapia<\/p>\n Anthony Tapia, 21, told the Guardian that he and Gonzales met in Germany in the soldier barracks and began dating in February of this year, \u201cwhen I asked her to be my girlfriend on a snowy night in Stuttgart\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was one of the most incredible people I had ever met, funny, playful, charismatic, and so full of life,\u201d Tapia said in a message. \u201cShe had a way of making everyone around her smile, and even in the most serious situations, she could somehow find a reason to laugh, make a joke, or put that beautiful smile on her face.\u201d<\/p>\n Tapia said that while they were apart, they would \u201ctalk whenever we could\u201d and that they had been looking forward to taking a trip together to Tapia\u2019s home town in Washington state.<\/p>\n \u201cWe talked about it so many times, saying how it was going to be one of the best trips of our lives,\u201d he said. \u201cMy family was so excited to finally meet her, and I was so excited to show her the place where I grew up.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had so many plans,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe talked about marriage, our future, traveling together, growing older together, and building a life filled with love and laughter. I truly believed we had so much time ahead of us.\u201d<\/p>\n Tapia said: \u201cThere are no words that can fully describe the pain of losing someone I loved so deeply.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was so much more than my girlfriend,\u201d he said. \u201cShe was my best friend, the person I wanted to marry, the person I imagined my entire future with, and someone who brought so much happiness into my life.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I think of her, I don\u2019t want to only remember the way we lost her,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to remember the girl who was always laughing. The girl who could make a joke during the most serious moments. The girl who was playful, funny, charismatic, and impossible not to love. I want to remember her beautiful smile, her laugh, her energy, and the way she could make an ordinary day feel special just by being herself.<\/p>\n \u201cI loved her more than she probably ever truly understood,\u201d he said. \u201cI would have given anything to see her one more time, hold her one more time, and tell her again just how much she meant to me.\u201d<\/p>\n According to ABC News<\/a>, Gonzales was posthumously promoted to private first class.<\/p>\n Angel Rampersad, 28<\/p>\n The Pentagon announced<\/a> that Sgt Angel S Rampersad<\/a>, 28, of Ozone Park, New York, was also \u201cbelieved to have been killed in action\u201d during the attack at the Muwaffaq Salti airbase.<\/p>\n The Pentagon said Rampersad was assigned to 1st battalion, 57th air defense artillery regiment, 52nd air defense artillery brigade, 10th army air and missile defense command in Ansbach, Germany.<\/p>\n