(Radio Iowa) – A 20-year-old Iowan is among the six American soldiers who were killed Sunday in Kuwait. Sergeant Declan Coady of West Des Moines was an Army Reservist and a sophomore at Drake University. Coady and five other U-S soldiers were killed in what the military describes as a drone hit on a tactical center at a civilian port in Kuwait.

Coady was part of the 103rd Sustainment Command based at Fort Des Moines — and three other soldiers in the unit from Florida, Bellevue, Nebraska, and White Bear Lake, Minnesota are among those killed in Kuwait. Coady enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023 as an Army Information Technology Specialist. Drake University, in a statement, said Coady was a highly dedicated Drake University student who had an incredibly bright future ahead of him. He was studying information systems, cybersecurity and computer science at Drake.

Iowa officials have been issuing statements after the military announced the deaths of Coady and the three other soldiers from the Des Moines-based unit. Senator Chuck Grassley says the four Army Reservists represent the best of Iowa and America. Senator Joni Ernst said they served in a noble endeavor and their sacrifices can never be repaid. Governor Reynolds asked Iowans to pray for the Coady family.

The leaders of both of Iowa’s major political parties issued statements of condolence to Coady’s family and asked for prayers for the safety of America’s soldiers who are in harm’s way.