Vance attends dignified transfer of US soldier killed in Iran war

The remains of U.S. Sergeant Benjamin Pennington, killed in the ongoing war with Iran, were returned to Delaware in a dignified ceremony, marking the seventh American combat death in the conflict.

Reuters

March 10, 2026

Vance attends dignified transfer of US soldier killed in Iran war

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine salute during a dignified transfer of the remains of U.S. Army Sgt. Benjamin Pennington, who died on March 8 from injuries sustained during a March 1 attack at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, U.S., March 9, 2026.

Kylie Cooper/Reuters

The remains of a U.S. soldier killed in action in the war with Iran arrived at an air force base in Delaware on Monday (March 9) during a dignified transfer ceremony attended by Vice President JD Vance.

The U.S. Department of Defense identified the soldier as Sergeant Benjamin Pennington, 26, from Kentucky, adding that he died on Sunday (March 8) from injuries sustained during an attack on U.S. troops at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

Pennington’s death brings the number of U.S. troops killed in action so far in the war with Iran to seven, the U.S. military said on Sunday.

At least 1,230 people have been killed in U.S. and Israel’s attacks on Iran, including 175 schoolgirls and staff killed in a missile strike on a primary school in Minab in the country's south on the war's first day, according to the non-profit humanitarian group Iranian Red Crescent Society.

Production: Ashraf Fahim, Bernat Parera, Kokkai Ng/Reuters