Trump grieves with families during return of soldiers killed in Middle East war

President Donald Trump has joined grieving families at Dover Air Force Base as the bodies of six American soldiers killed in the war in the Middle East were returned to the US.

The dignified transfer, a ritual that returns the remains of US service members killed in action, is considered one of the most sombre duties of any commander in chief.

During his first term, Mr Trump said bearing witness to the transfer was “the toughest thing I have to do” as president.

Mr Trump, speaking at a summit of Latin American leaders in Miami before his trip to Delaware, said the fallen service members were heroes “coming home in a different manner than they thought they’d be coming home”.

He said it was “a very sad situation” and he pledged to keep American war deaths “to a minimum”.

Both Mr Trump and vice president JD Vance were present for the transfer, as were their spouses.

A host of top administration officials were in attendance, including defence secretary Pete Hegseth, who wrote in a social media post on Friday of “an unbreakable spirit to honour their memory and the resolve they embodied”; attorney general Pam Bondi, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence.

Also present for the solemn event were governors and senators from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Florida.

Those killed in action were Maj Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa; Capt Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California; Sgt 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Sgt 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; and Sgt Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, lowa, who was posthumously promoted from specialist.

As is protocol, Mr Trump – wearing a blue suit, red tie and a white USA hat – did not speak during the transfer.

The president saluted as each flag-draped transfer case was carried from the military aircraft to awaiting transfer vehicles, which would take them to a mortuary facility to prepare them for their final resting place. The families were largely silent as they observed the ritual, which lasted about half an hour.

The six members of the Army Reserve, who were killed by a drone strike at a command centre in Kuwait, were all from the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines, Iowa, which provides food, fuel, water and ammunition, transport equipment and supplies.

They died just one day after the US and Israel launched its military campaign against Iran.

“These soldiers engaged in the most noble mission: protecting their fellow Americans and keeping our homeland secure,” Republican senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, a combat veteran, said earlier this week after the six were identified. “Our nation owes them an incredible debt of gratitude that can never be repaid.”