KUWAIT — 3/1/2026 | Published 3/5/2026
U.S. Army Reserve soldier Declan Coady, 20, sent a text message reassuring his family that he was safe just hours before he was killed in an Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle attack in Kuwait.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, Coady was among six service members killed in a UAV attack targeting Shuaiba port, Kuwait, while participating in the military operation known as Operation Epic Fury.
The Last Messages Home
Coady’s father, Andrew Coady, said his son regularly provided updates to keep the family at ease.
In the final hours before the attack, Declan texted every 1-2 hours, reporting that the situation was still stable.
Andrew recalled:
“Declan kept texting that everything was fine, that he was still safe. He just wanted us not to worry.”
Shortly before, Coady had also called his brother who was living in Italy.
According to the family, the operations center where Declan worked was most likely struck by a UAV shortly after that call.
The Moment the Family Received the News
After the last text message went unanswered, the family began to feel uneasy.
The following evening, around 8 p.m., the doorbell at their home in West Des Moines, Iowa rang. Outside stood military officers bearing an official notification.
The Youngest Among the Fallen
Declan Coady was the youngest among the confirmed fallen service members.
He joined the Army Reserve in 2023 as a military information technology specialist.
Before deploying to Kuwait in September 2025, Coady was a student at Drake University, studying:
information systems
cybersecurity
computer science
The Decision to Stay With His Unit
The family said Coady had considered returning to the U.S. to continue his ROTC program, a path that could have led him to become an officer after graduation.
However, he decided to continue serving with his unit and study online during his deployment in Kuwait, right as the U.S. House of Representatives prepared to vote on the president’s war powers.
According to his father, Coady once said that military service brought him great pride.
Posthumous Promotion
Just one week before the attack, Coady told his family he had been recommended for promotion from Specialist to Sergeant.
After his death, the U.S. Army posthumously promoted him to the rank of Sergeant.
Family Still in Shock
Coady’s sister said the family is still struggling to accept the reality, amid ongoing debates about casualties in the Iran conflict.
She said what she regrets most is not having said “I love you” to her brother during their last call.
