3 US Troops Killed in Drone Attack Identified
The fallen heroes were US Army Reserve soldiers based out of Georgia.
U.S. Air Force airmen fly two drones during during a drone threat training exercise at an undisclosed location in the Middle East on January 2, 2024.
Three U.S. military families in the state of Georgia are now America’s newest Gold Star families.
On Monday, the Pentagon made public the identities of the three U.S. Army Reserve soldiers killed by an Iran-backed terrorist group’s drone strike on an American military base in Jordan. The Department of Defense news release means that all three families have been officially identified.
Here are the fallen heroes’ names:
- Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, Carrollton, Georgia
- Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, Waycross, Georgia
- Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, Savannah, Georgia
Please join The Stream in praying for the Rivers, Sanders and Moffett families. We will also be asking God to comfort their loved ones, friends, fellow soldiers and the entire military community at Georgia’s Fort Moore, formerly known as Fort Benning.
BREAKING: The Pentagon identifies three U.S. service members killed in the drone attack in Jordan by an Iran-backed group.
“These brave Americans and their families are in our prayers and the entire Department of Defense mourns their loss." https://t.co/yKTmR3M23f pic.twitter.com/pyaB387YRn
— ABC News (@ABC) January 29, 2024
Also on Monday, the Pentagon confirmed that the number of injuries among U.S. military personnel had risen to “more than 40.”
“We do expect that number to continue to fluctuate as our service members, as you know with (Traumatic Brain Injury), report symptoms later on, so that number could continue to grow,” said Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh, as quoted by CNN.
An earlier CNN report said eight U.S. troops were “medically evacuated to receive higher-level care after being injured in Sunday’s drone attack on Tower 22 in Jordan” and that as of Monday morning, they were in stable condition at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
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The Stream has been closely following the sacrifices of our nation’s troops in the Middle East for many years. Back in December, I called for a stronger response from the Biden administration to the (at the time) more than 70 attacks launched by Iran against our military. There have been nearly 100 additional attacks since.
“What are you going to do about it, President Biden? A relatively small number of airstrikes isn’t enough to show Iran and its terrorist proxies that they shouldn’t dare mess with the United States military,” I wrote here on December 8 of last year. “You and your administration must act before brave soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines start getting killed.”
It breaks my heart that my grim prediction tragically came true. Indeed, the Biden administration must do more to respond to the terrorism being funded and orchestrated by Iran. Our nation’s brave service members and military families deserve better.
As civilians, our job is to support our troops, pray for their safe return and pay more attention to the daily sacrifices of the military community. We owe that to Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett and every fallen hero who’s given their tomorrows for our todays.
Tom Sileo is a contributing senior editor of The Stream. He is the author of the forthcoming I Have Your Back, the recently released Be Bold and co-author of Three Wise Men, Brothers Forever, 8 Seconds of Courage and Fire in My Eyes. Follow Tom on X @TSileo and The Stream at @Streamdotorg.
