A mom days from going home and a dad who ‘made you feel important’ are among US troops killed in war with Iran

By Haley Britzky, Taylor Romine, Hanna Park, CNN

(CNN) — A soldier who “made you feel important,” a mother just days from returning home, and a son known to be the life of the party were among the first American troops to lose their lives in the line of duty in the war with Iran.

Of six US service members killed Sunday in an Iranian strike on a makeshift operation center in Kuwait’s Shuaiba port, the Pentagon has publicly identified four.

All four were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, an Army Reserve sustainment unit out of Iowa, and were serving at what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described as a “tactical operation center that was fortified,” when a projectile made it through air defenses in an attack that came without warning.

The attack happened on just the second day of US and Israeli military operations against Iran.

“You don’t go to Kuwait thinking something’s going to happen, and for her to be one of the first – it hurts,” Joey Amor, husband of one of the slain soldiers, Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, told The Associated Press.

The four service members varied in careers, but all dedicated themselves to public service, thousands of miles away from their families, despite the unmistakable risks.

Capt. Cody Khork

Khork, 35, was “the life of the party,” three of his family members said.

He won awards for his dedication and service to the US Army, and behind his sense of duty was a man “known for his infectious spirit, generous heart, and deep care for those who served alongside him and for everyone blessed to know him,” his parents and stepmother wrote in a statement Tuesday.

Khork’s life was largely defined by three things, according to his parents: devotion, character, and service.

Khork, from Lakeland, Florida, enlisted in the National Guard in 2009 as a multiple launch rocket system/fire direction specialist. He commissioned as a military police officer in the Army Reserve in 2014, and deployed to Saudi Arabia; Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; and Poland.

Khork loved history and had a degree in political science, which showed “his sharp mind and his sincere appreciation for the principles and sacrifices that have shaped our nation,” his family said.

His awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal and Joint Service Achievement Medal.

Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor

The last time Joey Amor spoke with his wife, the couple talked about her working long shifts and how she tripped and fell the night before. Their last conversation was just two hours before she died, he told the AP.

Nicole Amor, a 39-year-old mother to a high school senior and a fourth-grader, was just days away from returning home, Joey Amor said.

“She was almost home,” he told the news outlet.

Nicole Amor, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, enlisted as an automated logistics specialist in the National Guard in 2005. She transferred to the Army Reserve a year later and deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019.

A week before the attack, she had been moved off base to a shipping container-style building, her husband told AP.

“They were dispersing because they were in fear that the base they were on was going to get attacked and they felt it was safer in smaller groups in separate places,” he said.

Amor’s decorations included the Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the state was mourning the loss of Amor.

“She answered the call to serve and gave her life in service to our state and nation,” Walz wrote on X. “Minnesotans are wrapping our arms around her loved ones.”

Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens

Regardless of what you may have needed, Tietjens “was the kind of guy that was always around to help you,” Army Staff Sgt. Jonn Coleman, a fellow Nebraska soldier, told CNN affiliate KETV.

“He made you feel important,” Coleman said. “And that’s hard to find sometimes in the military.”

Coleman credits Tietjens’ mentorship as the reason he was able to advance his military career: “He took me under his wing and got me to where I needed to be.”

Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska, enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2006 as a wheeled vehicle mechanic. He had deployed to Kuwait twice before, in 2009 and 2019. His awards and decorations also include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Medal.

In Bellevue, Tietjens, his wife and son were prominent members of a martial arts studio, where he earned a black belt in Taekwondo and was an instructor, according to a tribute the studio posted on social media about him.

“He did not simply wear a Black Belt, he lived it,” Martial Arts International said in the post, praising Tietjens as “a devoted husband and father.”

A college fund has been established for Tietjens’ son, the studio said.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen called for prayers for Tietjens’ family and praised the fallen soldier’s service to the country.

“Noah stepped up to serve and defend the American people from foreign enemies around the world — a sacrifice we must never forget,” the governor wrote on X.

US Sen. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska said his “heart and prayers are with the Tietjens family as they mourn the loss of their heroic son.”

Sgt. Declan Coady

For Keira Coady, the loss of her brother Declan Coady is hard to accept, she told the AP.

“I still don’t fully think it’s real,” she said. “I just remember all of our conversations about what he was going to do when he came back.”

Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa, enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023 as an Army information technology specialist. Among the youngest in his class, Coady stood out to his instructors, his father, Andrew Coady, told the AP.

“He was very good at what he did,” he said.

While deployed in Kuwait, the soldier was continuing his studies in information systems, cybersecurity and computer science online at Drake University, school officials told CNN and had set his sights on becoming a commissioned officer, according to the AP.

Drake officials described him as “well-loved and highly dedicated.”

Coady was posthumously promoted from specialist to sergeant. He told his father just last week he’d been recommended for the promotion, the AP reported.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds honored Coady for his service, saying in a statement he “heroically answered his nation’s call to duty and gave the ultimate sacrifice.”

Coady’s military awards include the Army Service Ribbon, National Defense Service Ribbon and Overseas Service Ribbon.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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CNN’s Alisha Ebrahimji, Taylor Galgano and Martin Goillandeau contributed to this report.