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Fallen U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, spent his final hours in Kuwait sending steady updates home to ease his family’s fears amid the war with Iran — before silence replaced his messages and uniformed officers arrived at his parents’ door.
Coady, a Drake University student from Des Moines, Iowa, was one of six Army Reserve soldiers killed Saturday in an Iranian drone attack at the Port of Shuaiba in Kuwait while supporting Operation Epic Fury, according to the Department of War (DoW).
He was the youngest of the fallen soldiers identified by the DoW, and enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023 as an Army information technology specialist.
In an emotional interview, his father, Andrew Coady, said the family learned about the casualties shortly after waking up Sunday morning, but did not believe Declan was involved because he had spoken to his brother in Italy earlier in the morning.
Sgt. Declan Coady and five other U.S. Army Reserve soldiers were killed in a drone attack in Kuwait on Sunday. (U.S. Army Reserve Command Press Desk)
“Declan just was checking in with him, and the reason being is Declan is nine hours ahead of us,” Andrew said. “He was two hours ahead of his brother, so he called his brother. Declan had been sending us updates every one to two hours, like, ‘hey, everything’s still good. I’m good.’ Which goes to show you, you know, he was thinking about us. Like, ‘don’t worry about me’ and so forth.”
Based off information the family received, Andrew said Declan’s operation center was likely hit shortly after he got off the phone with his brother.
“At the time, my wife had sent another message to him … and we didn’t hear back,” Andrew said. “They may not always be able to respond, but I will say most of us started to [worry]. Your gut starts to get a feeling. We go to bed fairly early, so we got ready Sunday night to go to bed, and we had just turned the lights off and went into the bedroom and the doorbell rang at 8 p.m.”
Andrew Coady and his daughter Keira, right, talk about his son, Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, outside their home, Tuesday, in West Des Moines, Iowa. (Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo)
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Declan’s unit deployed to Kuwait in September and was due home in May, according to his father.
“There was a request for the role that he could do and fill, that a new unit was coming in and didn’t have so many in that slot, and if he’d be willing to extend nine more months,” Andrew Coady said. “So we were discussing that, pros and cons. He hadn’t made a decision yet.”
He reminisced about a conversation with his son, where Declan told him that his previous jobs did not compare to the love he had for service.
“But one thing he did say is that, ‘You know, I haven’t had a lot of jobs, but I’ve had jobs in the civilian world. And I’ve been over here for six months and I work 12+ hour days. I work six to seven days a week,'” Andrew said. “And he goes, ‘I love it.’”
This photo provided by Andrew Coady shows his son, Declan Coady, posing for a photo on the day of his graduation at U.S. Army Training Center at Fort Sill, Okla. (Andrew Coady via AP)
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His father explained Declan could have continued attending nearby Drake University — where he was studying information systems, cybersecurity and computer science — and commissioned as an officer after graduating from the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC).
However, he decided to redeploy with this unit and continue online classes in Kuwait.
“He kind of planned it out, that he was adamant, like, ‘I’m gonna go with my unit,'” Andrew said.
Just a week before the fatal attack, his father said Declan called him to let him know he was recommended for a promotion from specialist to sergeant, a rank he received posthumously.
The fallen service members were identified as Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Lakeland, Florida; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa. Two additional soldiers killed in the attack have not yet been publicly identified. (U.S. Army Reserve Command Press Desk; )
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Declan’s sister, Keira Coady, tearfully remembered the day her brother left for Kuwait, showing reporters photos of him with their family’s pet cat.
“This was the morning before we dropped him off for him to leave,” Keira said. “He was our cat, Autumn’s, favorite. She’d sit in his room while he would game for hours, and beg for attention, and he would give it to her. He’s 20. He was going to be 21 in two months.”
Keira Coady talks about her brother, Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, outside her home, Tuesday, in West Des Moines, Iowa. (Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo)
Keira said the shock has not yet subsided, explaining, “I still don’t fully think it’s real.”
“I didn’t think it was real when they told us,” Keira said. “I just remember all of our conversations about what he was gonna do when he came back. And so I’ll just be sitting and thinking about it. It’s just, it’s really hard. … I didn’t have the same call this weekend that my dad and like my brother did [with Declan]. I just really wish I got to tell him I love you one more time because he was just so amazing.”
She added her brother was not one to let his emotions show, but she can imagine his fear on the day of the attack.
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“I can’t help but think, just, he was my little brother, and he was probably really scared even if he didn’t want people to know,” Keira said. “I wish he could have known one more time that we all loved him because he was so amazing and kind. … He was just like the best little brother you could have.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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