Army reservist, 20, killed in Iranian drone strike in Kuwait, spent final hours reassuring family: ‘I’m good’
Fallen US Army Reserve Sergeant. Declan Coady, 20, spent his final hours in Kuwait sending regular updates home to ease his family’s fears in the midst of the war with Iran, before his messages gave way to silence and uniformed officers arrived at his parents’ door.
Coady, a Drake University student from Des Moines. IowaHe was one of six Army Reserve soldiers killed in an Iranian drone strike Saturday while supporting Operation Epic Fury at Port Shuaiba in Kuwait, according to the Department of War (DOW).
He was the youngest of the fallen soldiers identified by DOW after joining the Army Reserve in 2023 as an Army information technology specialist.
In an emotional interview, his father Andrew Coady said: family He received news of the death shortly after waking up on Sunday morning, but did not believe Declan was involved because he had spoken to his brother in Italy earlier in the morning.
Sergeant. Declan Coady and five other U.S. Army Reserve soldiers were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait on Sunday.
(Fox News)
“Declan was just checking it out and that’s because Declan is nine hours ahead of us,” Andrew said. “He was two hours ahead of his brother, so he called his brother. Declan was sending us updates every two hours, like, ‘Hey, everything’s still good. I’m good.’ That shows he’s thinking about us. Like, ‘Don’t worry about me,’ etc.”
Based on the family’s information, Andrew said Declan’s operations center was likely shot shortly after speaking to his brother on the phone.
“My wife had sent him another message at the time… and we didn’t hear back,” Andrew said. “They may not always be able to respond, but I would say most of us are starting to respond. [worry]. Your intestines start to feel something. “We go to bed pretty early, so Sunday night we got ready for bed, turned off the lights and went to the bedroom and at 8pm the doorbell rang.”
Andrew Coady and his daughter Keira, right, talk about his son Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, outside their home in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday.
Declan’s unit was deployed to Kuwait in September and was due to return home in May, according to his father.
“There was a demand for the role that he could do and fill, that a new unit would come in and there weren’t a lot of people in that vacancy and would they be willing to extend for another nine months,” Andrew Coady said. “So we were just debating the pros and cons of it. He hadn’t made a decision yet.”
He remembered a conversation he had with his son; Meanwhile, Declan told him that his previous jobs did not compare to his love of service.
“But all he said was, ‘You know, I haven’t had a lot of jobs, but I’ve had jobs in the civilian world. I’ve been here for six months and I’ve been working 12-plus hours a day. I’ve been working six to seven days a week,'” Andrew said. “And he says, ‘I love this.'”
This photo provided by Andrew Coady shows his son Declan Coady posing for a photo at the U.S. Army Training Center in Fort Sill, Okla., on graduation day.
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His father explained that Declan could go on to attend nearby Drake University, where he studied information systems, cybersecurity and computer science, and was commissioned as an officer after graduating from the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC).
However, he decided to reassign in this unit and continue online classes in Kuwait.
“He had kind of planned it out and was adamant, like, ‘I’m going to go with my unit,'” Andrew said.
Just a week before the fatal attack, his father said Declan called him and let him know it was him. Recommended for promotion from specialist to sergeant, a rank he received posthumously.
The fallen service members were identified as Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, Bellevue, Neb.; Sergeant. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, White Bear Lake, Minn.; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Lakeland, Florida; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa. The identities of the two soldiers killed in the attack have not yet been made public.
Declan’s sister Keira Coady tearfully recalled the day her brother left for Kuwait, showing reporters photos of him with the family’s cat.
“This was the morning before we dropped him off to go,” Keira said. “Our cat was Autumn’s favorite person. She would sit in her room and play for hours, begging for attention and he would give it to her. She is 20 years old. She would be 21 in two months.”
Keira Coady talks about her brother Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, outside his home in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday.
Keira said the shock had not subsided yet, adding: “I still don’t quite think it’s real.”
“I didn’t think it was real when they told us,” Keira said. “I remember all our conversations about what he was going to do when he got back. So I’m going to sit down and think about it. It’s really hard. … I didn’t make the same call this weekend that my dad and my brother did. [with Declan]. “I wish I could tell her one more time that I love you because she was so amazing.”
He added that his brother was someone who did not show his emotions, but he could imagine his fear on the day of the attack.
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“I can’t help but think, ‘He was my little brother and he was probably really scared, even if he didn’t want people to know,'” Keira said. “I wish he knew one more time that we all loved him because he was so amazing and kind. He was like the best little brother you could ever have.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Original article source: The 20-year-old army reservist killed in Iran’s drone strike in Kuwait spent his final hours reassuring his family that “I’m fine”
