Killed U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, spent his final hours in Kuwait sending updates home to ease his family’s fears in the war with Iran, before his messages were replaced by silence and uniformed police arriving on his parents’ doorstep.
Cody, a Drake University student from Des Moines, Iowa, was one of six Army reservists killed in an Iranian drone strike in the Kuwait port of Shuaiba on Saturday while supporting Operation Epic Fury, according to the U.S. War Department.
After joining the Army Reserves in 2023 as an Army Information Technology Specialist, he became the youngest soldier identified as a fallen soldier by the U.S. Department of Labor.
In an emotional interview, his father Andrew Cody said the family learned of the casualties shortly after waking up on Sunday morning but did not believe Declan was involved because he had spoken to his brother in Italy earlier in the morning.
Sgt. Declan Cody and five other U.S. Army reservists were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait on Sunday.
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“Declan just checked with him and the reason is that Declan is nine hours ahead of us,” Andrew said. “He was two hours ahead of his brother, so he called his brother. Declan was sending us updates every one to two hours, like, ‘Hey, everything’s okay. I’m fine.’ It showed you know, he was thinking about us. Like, ‘Don’t worry about me’ or whatever.”
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Based on information received by the family, Andrew said Declan’s operations center was likely attacked shortly after he hung up with his brother.
“At that time, my wife sent him another message … but we didn’t hear back,” Andrew said. “They may not always be able to respond, but I would say most of us start [worry]. Your gut starts to feel something. We went to bed fairly early so we were getting ready for bed on Sunday night and as soon as we turned off the lights and walked into the bedroom the doorbell rang at 8pm. “
Andrew Cody and his daughter Kayla (right) talk about his son Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, outside their home in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday.
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According to Declan’s father, Declan’s unit deployed to Kuwait in September and is expected to return home in May.
“There’s been a request that he can serve and fill the position, a new unit is coming in but there aren’t that many people in the position, and whether he’d be willing to extend for another nine months,” Andrew Cody said. “So, we’re discussing the pros and cons of that. He hasn’t made a decision yet.”
He recalled a conversation with his son in which Declan told him that his previous job could not compare to his love of service.
“But one thing he did say was, ‘You know, I haven’t had a lot of jobs, but I’ve had civilian jobs. I’ve been here for six months, working 12-plus hours a day. I work six to seven days a week,'” Andrew said. “He said, ‘I love it.'”
This photo provided by Andrew Coady shows his son, Declan Coady, posing for a photo on his graduation day at the U.S. Army Training Center in Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
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His father explained that Declan could have gone on to attend nearby Drake University, where he studied information systems, cybersecurity and computer science and was commissioned as an officer after graduating from the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC).
However, he decided to redeploy the unit and continue online courses in Kuwait.
“He kind of planned it out, he was determined, like, ‘I’m going to go with my troops,'” Andrew said.
His father said just a week before the fatal attack, Declan called him to let him know he had been recommended for promotion from specialist to sergeant, a rank he received posthumously.
The fallen serviceman was identified as Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, Bellevue, Neb.; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minn.; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Lakeland, Fla.; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa. The identities of the other two soldiers killed in the attack have not been made public.
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Declan’s sister, Keira Coady, tearfully recalled the day her brother left for Kuwait, showing reporters photos of him and the family cat.
“This was the morning before we sent him away,” Kayla said. “He was our cat Autumn’s favorite. She would sit in his room and he would play for hours and beg for attention, which he would give to her. He is 20 years old. He will be 21 in two months.”
Kayla Cody talks about her brother, Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, outside her home in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday.
Keira said the shock hasn’t worn off yet, explaining: “I still don’t completely think it’s true.”
“When they told us, I didn’t think it was true,” Kayla said. “I just remember all the conversations we had about what he was going to do when he came back. So, I would just sit and think about it. It’s just, it’s been really hard… I didn’t get the calls this weekend that my dad and my brother did. [with Declan]. I really wish I could tell him I love you again because he is so awesome. “
She added that her brother was not one to express his emotions, but she could imagine his fear on the day of the attack.
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“I couldn’t help but think, he was my brother, and even though he didn’t want people to know, he was probably really scared,” Kayla said. “I hope he knows again that we all love him because he’s so wonderful and kind… He’s like the best little brother you could ever have.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Original source of the article: 20-year-old Army reservist killed in Iranian drone strike in Kuwait comforts family in final hours: ‘I’m fine’
