Zachary Nunn: “I rise today to honor six Americans, including two Iowans, who gave their lives for our country. On March 1, an Iranian…”

“I rise today to honor six Americans, including two Iowans, who gave their lives for our country. On March 1, an Iranian drone struck a U.S. Army command center in Kuwait and killed six members of the 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command in the Army Reserve, which operates out of Fort Des Moines, Iowa, in my district. I will speak first about these two young Hawkeyes. Sergeant Declan Coady of West Des Moines was only 20 years old. He was one of the youngest men in his unit and, by every account, one of the best. Sergeant Coady trained as an IT specialist with the Army Reserves while studying cybersecurity at my alma mater, Drake University, right here in Des Moines. He was taking classes online from Kuwait while he defended our country in order to become an officer in the U.S. Army. Last week, he proudly told his father that he had been recommended for promotion from specialist to sergeant. I am happy to say that he posthumously achieved that very honorable rank. With him was Major Jeffrey O'Brien, 45, of Waukee and Indianola, Iowa, a senior officer in the same unit who spent decades in service. He gave his life keeping our forces in Kuwait safe and Americans at home guarded. I will say the name of every one of our fallen because every family represented here today, amongst my colleagues from each State where they grew, lived, and served, deserves to be honored by this Nation in our moment of national heartbreak.”