DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday lamented the loss of four soldiers from her state since December, including two killed last weekend in a retaliatory drone strike in Kuwait during the early stages of the war with Iran.
“I believe in the mission right now,” Reynolds, a Republican, said during a news conference, her voice breaking at times.
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“I think it was the right thing to do,” she said, referring to U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran. “Just look at what Iran has done over the last several years. Hopefully we’re in and out. I believe that’s the goal of this administration.”
Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, were among six Army Reservists killed in the drone strike. All were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, which provides food, fuel, water and ammunition, transport equipment and supplies.
Reynolds said she spoke with Coady’s father and O’Brien’s wife.
“As you can imagine, they’re heartbroken and as Iowans, we grieve with them,” she said, adding that some wounded soldiers have been safely transported to Germany.
In December, two members of the Iowa National Guard, Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, were killed in Syria. The U.S. military blamed the Islamic State group.
“I can’t imagine the sacrifice,” the governor said.
Also among those killed in Kuwait was Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54. Though he was from Sacramento, California, he served with others from Iowa, including Lucas Schafroth, who called news of his death devastating.
“For me, he was my greatest mentor in life. I mean, I’m the father I am today — I’m the man I am today — because of him,” said Schafroth, who is from Waukee, Iowa, and served his entire 13-year Army Reserve career with Marzan. “I took a lot of life lessons from him.”
Schafroth was 18 and a fresh high school graduate in 2008 when he first met Marzan, and the older man put a computer in his hands and told him to learn it. Later he sat Schafroth down to go over goals and help him work out a five-year plan for them.
“He was just an incredible man,” said Schaforth. “And he did that for everyone he met. Every single one of us.”
The men stayed close after Schaforth, who is now 35 and works in cybersecurity, left the military in 2021.
“Rob and I had plans for him when he got home to sit down and put together our business plans,” he said. “He and I both wanted to start our own small businesses, and we were going to help each other kind of nail down all the details.”
Tina Marzan said her husband’s deployment was supposed to end in a couple of months, and the family had been planning to celebrate his April birthday when he returned.
The military has identified the three other soldiers killed in Kuwait as: Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida, and Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, of Bellevue, Nebraska.
In the evening Thursday, a martial arts studio where Tietjens practiced in Bellevue held a memorial class in his honor.
Grand Master Julius Melegrito led the class through 43 repetitions of several exercises because the day would have been Tietjens' 43rd birthday.
Melegrito said Tietjens was always willing to give and help others, noting that he participated in Zoom classes while deployed and taught fellow soldiers martial arts.
Tietjens, his wife and his 12-year-old son all earned black belts at the suburban Omaha studio, which is part of the Philippine Martial Arts Alliance International.
ProCircular, a cybersecurity company where O'Brien worked, praised his “uplifting humor” and “calm guidance.”
“His quiet strength and expertise protected countless systems and left a lasting impact on everyone privileged to work with him,” CEO Aaron Warner said.
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Associated Press writers Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska, and Josh Funk in Bellevue, Nebraska, contributed.