On Saturday, I stood with the Coady and O’Brien families at Dover Air Force Base as Sgt. Declan Coady, Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien — and four of their fellow servicemembers — were brought home.
There are no words to fully capture that moment. Standing beside six flag-draped caskets, I saw the quiet dignity these families carry — the grief held steady and the love for those they lost visible in every step of the ceremony.
In just the past few months, I’ve stood on that flight line twice. It does not get easier.
Iowa has paid a heavy price defending the freedoms we cherish at home — warriors lost in Syria, and now warriors lost in Kuwait.
It’s a reminder that freedom is never free. It is paid for through service and sacrifice that extend far beyond those who wear the uniform — to the families on that tarmac this weekend, to those sitting beside hospital beds, and to the loved ones waiting anxiously for the safe return of those still serving.
On Sunday, I visited the wounded servicemembers from the 103rd Sustainment Command recovering at Walter Reed Medical Center and their families. Even through hardship, their spirits remain strong and their determination unwavering. The cost of this mission is still being carried by them, by their families, and by a grateful nation that owes them far more than words.
Bottom Line: Iowa will never forget Declan Coady, Jeffrey O’Brien, and the four Americans who came home alongside them. We honor their service, stand with their families, and carry forward the responsibility they have entrusted to us.