A US soldier died after sustaining accidents throughout an assault final week in Saudi Arabia, the army stated, bringing the variety of American troops killed in the Iran war to seven.
The army on Monday identified the service member as Army Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Kentucky. Pennington, who was injured at Prince Sultan Air Base, was assigned to 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade, a unit inside Army Space and Missile Defense Command.
“Last night, a U.S. service member passed away from injuries received during the Iranian regime’s initial attacks across the Middle East,” US Central Command said Sunday on X. “The service member was seriously wounded at the scene of an attack on U.S. troops in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on March 1.”
The information of the fallen service member got here a day after the dignified transfer for the six soldiers who had been killed final week in Kuwait. President Donald Trump and different high officers joined the households of these troops at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware as the troopers had been introduced dwelling.
That strike, which came without warning, occurred on a makeshift operations middle on the civilian port of Shuaiba in Kuwait on March 1. All six troopers had been assigned with the 103rd Sustainment Command, an Army Reserve unit out of Iowa.
The president advised ABC on Sunday the assembly with the households of the six troops didn’t give him pause in regards to the war.
“The parents would be upset if I did that,” he stated. “The parents said to me, every one of them, ‘Please sir, win this for my boy,’ and in one case a young woman, as you know. ‘Please, win this for my child.’”
The president has beforehand stated there’ll probably be extra US casualties in the Iran war. Asked Saturday whether or not he thought he must attend extra dignified transfers, Trump stated, “I’m sure. I hate to … but it’s a part of war.”
In Hardin County, Kentucky, flags are flying at half-staff at county authorities buildings, grounds and amenities in Pennington’s honor.
Hardin County Judge-Executive Keith Taul stated he had identified Pennington’s father for many years and the household is “hurting pretty bad right now.”
Pennington “gave the ultimate sacrifice for the country he loved,” Lt. Gen. Sean A. Gainey, commanding basic of Army Space and Missile Defense Command, stated in a statement. “That makes him nothing less than a hero, and he will always be remembered that way.”
Pennington enlisted in the US Army in 2017 and was assigned to the first Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade on June 10, 2025, in keeping with the army’s assertion. He obtained a number of awards over the course of his service and can be posthumously promoted to employees sergeant.
The US Space Command stated in a statement, “We mourn a life cut short and extend our heartfelt gratitude and sympathies to the family, friends, and community of Sgt. Pennington as we honor his ultimate sacrifice.”
CENTCOM additionally introduced Sunday in a separate social media post a US National Guard soldier died in a “health-related incident in Kuwait on March 6 during a medical emergency.”
Maj. Sorffly Davius, 46, of Queens, New York, died at Camp Buehring, the Pentagon stated. The incident is below investigation. Davius was a New York City police officer since 2014, the division stated.
This story has been up to date with further info.