KDSN RADIO News
Iowa soldier among six killed in Iran drone strike
A 20-year-old Iowan is among six American soldiers who were killed Sunday during a drone strike in Kuwait.
Sergeant Declan Coady of West Des Moines was an Army Reservist and a sophomore at Drake University. Coady and the other U.S. soldiers were killed in what the military describes as a drone hit on a tactical center at a civilian port in Kuwait.
Coady was part of the 103rd Sustainment Command based at Fort Des Moines, and three other soldiers in the unit from Florida, Bellevue, Nebraska, and White Bear Lake, Minnesota were among those killed in Kuwait Sunday.
Drake University, in a statement, said Coady was a “highly dedicated Drake University student” who “had an incredibly bright future ahead of him.” Coady enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023 as an Army Information Technology Specialist. He was studying information systems, cybersecurity and computer science at Drake. The Army Reserve announced Coady had been posthumously promoted from Specialist to Sergeant, and the Army Service Ribbon, National Defense Service Ribbon, and the Overseas Service Ribbon are among his military awards and decorations.
Senator Chuck Grassley said the four soldiers from the Iowa unit who were killed in Kuwait “represent the best of Iowa and America.” Senator Joni Ernst said they served “in a noble endeavor” and “their sacrifices can never be repaid.” Governor Reynolds asked Iowans to pray for the Coady family, and the leaders of both of Iowa’s major political parties issued statements of condolence to Coady’s family and prayers for the safety of American soldiers on active duty.
The Des Moines Register reports Coady’s older brother, Aidan, is an Army corporal stationed in Italy.
