President Donald Trump saluted the six fallen soldiers as their bodies arrived on US soil at a Delaware Air Force base to be prepared for their final resting place on Saturday. 

The Republican appeared somber as he held his hand to his forehead as the six caskets passed by him, his wife First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles at Dover Air Fore Base. 

The caskets carried the bodies of Nicole Amor, 39; Cody Khork, 35; Robert Marzan, 54; Jeffrey O’Brien, 45; Noah Tietjens, 42; and Declan Coady, 20, who died on Sunday during an Iranian attack on Kuwait. 

American flags were be draped over their coffins as part of the dignified transfer as they were carried to a vehicle that transports them to a mortuary facility. 

Trump had announced that he would attend the ceremony on Friday night, saying he was bringing his wife and members of his cabinet along to ‘pay our highest respect to our great warriors.’ 

‘God bless them all,’ he wrote. 

On Saturday morning, while speaking at the Shield of the Americas Summit in Florida before heading to Delaware, the president admitted the six soldiers are ‘coming home from Iran…in a different manner than they thought they’d be coming home.’ 

‘They’re great heroes in our country,’ he told the summit.  

President Donald Trump saluted the six fallen soldiers as they were giving their dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware 

Trump was accompanied by his wife First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles 

Trump, Vance, and Hegseth bowed their hands at the base of the base while the caskets were taken out 

Soldiers carried their fellow comrades, whose caskets had an American flag overlayed 

Trump and Vance were seen saluting as the casket passed by 

The president met with the soldiers’ families while at the Air Force base. 

Trump also warned on Saturday that more Americans lives could be lost as more military action takes place in the Middle East, as Iran has continued to strike at US bases. 

The Republican has vowed to hit Iran ‘very hard’ on Saturday, he said in a Truth Social post. 

‘Under serious consideration for complete destruction and certain death, because of Iran’s bad behavior, are areas and groups of people that were not considered for targeting up until this moment in time,’ he wrote.  

However, a leaked spy report by the National Intelligence Council warned that Trump’s military action could be disastrous. 

In just one week, tensions have dramatically risen in the region, starting with a joint military operation conducted by the US and Israel against Iran.

The strikes took out Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Iran retaliated by targeting US military bases in the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Trump has stood firm on the military attack, but a report completed by the NIC just a week before raised doubts about the US’s ability to overthrow the regime.

Nicole Amor, 39, and Cody Khork, 35, are among the soldiers whose bodies were returned home on Saturday

Robert Marzan, 54, and Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, were among the six who died in an Iranian drone attack in Kuwait on Sunday 

Noah Tietjens, 42, and Declan Coady, 20, were among the soldiers bodies flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for a dignified transfer 

The soldiers were attacked in Kuwait by an Iranian drone

The NIC is a federal government agency that reports to the Director of National Intelligence. NIC members bridge 18 intelligence agencies with policymakers to provide analytical assessments.

Three people familiar with the findings told the Washington Post that Iran would likely respond to Khamenei’s death by following protocols to preserve the regime. Sources said it was ‘unlikely’ that Iran’s opposition would seize control.

Khamenei’s successor has yet to be named. Iran’s Assembly of Experts and high-ranking members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been tasked with naming his replacement.

Ayatollah’s son, Mojitaba Khamenei, is rumored to be assuming the role, but Trump has previously called him ‘incompetent’ and a ‘lightweight.’

The uncertainty of success has made it harder for the six soldiers families, whom some should have been days away from reuniting with their loved ones if they were still alive.    

Amor’s husband, Joey, said his wife had been due home, and he originally had no worries upon hearing about her deployment to Kuwait, the Associated Press said. 

‘You don’t go to Kuwait thinking something’s going to happen, and for her to be one of the first – it hurts,’ he said. 

O’Brien had been in the Army Reserve for nearly 15 years. His family remembered him on Facebook as the ‘sweetest blue-eyed, blonde farm kid you’d ever know.’ 

‘He is so missed already,’ his aunt wrote. 

President Donald Trump was seen arriving at Dover Air Force Base Saturday afternoon for the dignified transfer of the six soldiers who died in Kuwait 

Trump raised a fist in solidarity as he stepped off the presidential aircraft 

Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shook hands with service members at Dover Air Force Base after arriving Saturday afternoon 

Marzan’s sister described him as a ‘strong leader’ and a loving husband and father. 

‘My baby brother, you are loved, and I will hold onto all our memories and cherish them always in my heart,’ she wrote. 

Coady’s father said his son ‘loved being a soldier’ and was ‘one of the most kindest [sic] people you would ever meet.’ 

‘He would do anything and everything for anyone,’ his dad said. 

Khork’s family remembered him as the ‘life of the party’ who had an ‘infectious spirit’ and a ‘generous heart.’ 

Tietjens had previously served in Kuwait alongside his father. He left behind a wife and a 12-year-old. 

Republican Senator, Joni Ernst, a combat veteran, said the nation ‘owes them an incredible debt of gratitude that can never be repaid.’ 

‘These soldiers engaged in the most noble mission: protecting their fellow Americans and keeping our homeland secure,’ he said. 

Smoke was seen rising in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Saturday after Trump promised to hit the country ‘very hard’ today 

Smoke was also seen in Isfahan, Iran, on Saturday 

This will be the fourth dignified transfer that Trump will attend since his first term. It will be his second since he took office in January 2025. 

Trump recently traveled to Dover in December to honor two Iowa National Guard members and a US  civilian interpreter who were killed in an ambush attack in the Syrian desert.   

Just weeks into his first term, Trump went to his first dignified transfer ceremony on February 1, 2017, where Bill Owens, the father of the slain William ‘Ryan’ Owens, refused to shake the President’s hand.

The elder Owens was enraged that Trump had approved a raid in Yemen just six days into his term.

Trump did not return to Dover for another dignified transfer ceremony until nearly two years later – on January 19, 2019.