Four fallen U.S. service members were honored Wednesday in a dignified transfer ceremony in Delaware after being killed during the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
One of the Americans killed in Jordan, 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, was a student at Southern Utah University.
SUU President Mindy Benson confirmed that Feehan, who was among the soldiers killed in action on July 18, was an MBA student at the school and was close to graduation. He also received his undergraduate degree at SUU.
Other soldiers who were killed include U.S. Army Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Texas, Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of New York, who died in Jordan, and Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of North Carolina, who died in Iraq.
The four fallen members were honored in a ceremony at the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. President Donald Trump, and Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Chris Coons, D-Del., were in attendance.
Asked before he departed for the base, Trump said his message to their families is “we love you. We love your child.”
“All you can do is throw out your heart,” he said before departing for the ceremony. Trump also shared that doing dignified transfers is “one of the hardest things to do,” both for him personally and as president, but said it “has to be done.”
Photos from the base show Trump saluting as a U.S. Army team carried the flag-draped transfer cases of the service members.
Since the start of the war in February, 18 U.S. service members have been killed.
Feehan was weeks away from MBA degree
Benson said Feehan, who is from Hawaii, would be awarded his MBA posthumously.
“Our hearts are with his family, fellow service members, classmates, and all who knew and loved Tyler as we mourn this profound loss together,” Benson said in her statement. “We are grateful for his service; his sacrifice will forever be remembered by the Thunderbird community.”
SUU will pay tribute to Feehan in the coming weeks by playing “The Army Song” every hour, on the hour, on the Carter Carillon.
Feehan was a member of the SUU Army ROTC program and was receiving his commission as an Air Defense Artillery Office in spring 2024. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Feehan’s family shared a statement with CNN. His parents, Stephen and Shari Feehan, said their hearts were “shattered” at the loss of their son, who was “taken from us far too soon.”
“We want America and the world to know Tyler lived life to the fullest and accomplished more in his 25 years than most complete in a lifetime,” they said.
His parents said they intend to fund a scholarship in his honor.
“We ask only this: that in remembering Tyler, people pause to see the good this country still holds, rather than what divides it,” they said in a statement. “To that end, we’re building a scholarship in his name — one meant to open doors to education for those who serve or hope to. We’re starting it with his death gratuity, and we welcome anyone moved to give.”