With U.S. President Joe Biden in attendance, the bodies of three American soldiers, who lost their lives in an attack involving an Iranian-made drone in Jordan, are scheduled to return to the United States this Friday.
The fallen Army Reserve soldiers, Sergeant William Jerome Rivers, 46, hailing from Carrollton, Georgia; Specialist Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, from Waycross, Georgia; and Specialist Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Georgia, tragically lost their lives last Sunday.
Biden is set to accompany the grieving families at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, participating in the U.S. Air Force’s designated “dignified transfer” ceremony for the fallen soldiers.
Joining the president in this solemn event will be First Lady Jill Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and Air Force General Charles Q. Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The White House has confirmed that, prior to the transfer, the Bidens will meet with the families of the deceased. The president had conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families during a phone call on Tuesday.
The remains, commonly transported by a C-17 cargo plane to Dover, will undergo a meticulous process. A team of soldiers will carry the caskets with solemn precision from the plane’s open bay to gray mortuary vans, observed by the families and the presidential entourage.
The parents of 23-year-old Specialist Sanders released a video of Biden’s heartfelt call to local media outlets. In the video, Biden expressed empathy, acknowledging the profound pain of loss, drawing from his personal experiences of the deaths of his first wife, infant daughter, and grown son, Beau.
Iran-backed militants carried out a drone attack on the American outpost in Jordan, named Tower 22, causing injuries to over 40 individuals. President Biden, addressing the situation on Tuesday, affirmed that he has reached a decision on the appropriate response. While expectations point towards retaliatory strikes, the timing remains uncertain.
Notably, a strike directly into Iranian territory seems improbable, as the White House clarified Biden’s intent to avoid engaging in a war with Iran.
According to information from four U.S. officials, the United States has determined that Iran was the manufacturer of the drone deployed in the attack.