Contributed
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE – One by one, the transfer cases carrying the remains of Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Ga.; Sgt. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Ga.; and Sgt. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Ga. were carefully carried off a gray C-5 transport plane.
They were all Army reservists, killed in a drone attack on a military outpost in Jordan near the Syrian border.
President Biden stood with his hand over his heart, an expression of deep pain on his face, looking straight ahead as the flag-draped cases were brought past him. First lady Jill Biden, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Q. Brown stood nearby.
The family members had met with the Bidens before the dignified transfer began, and watched the solemn movement from a small section of white folding chairs set up on the tarmac out of view from the members of the media who travel with the president.
The U.S. government is still investigating how Iranian-backed militants were able to successfully attack the outpost. Biden told reporters earlier this week that he has already authorized a response. The White House has said that the response would include a series of actions and would roll out over time.
“I spoke with each of these families separately,” Biden said at the national prayer breakfast. “They risked it all and we’ll never forget the sacrifices and service to our country. And the dozens of service members who were wounded and are recovering now.”
The attack marks the third drone strike on the outpost in the past six months, with the first two occurring in the latter half of the previous year being unsuccessful. Lt. Gen. Jody Daniels, chief of the Army Reserve and commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve Command, said the murders of the three Black reservists cut deeply.
The U.S. government has determined that Iran was responsible for the attack, prompting President Joe Biden to vow a response. “There will be a response,” Biden declared.
In her last conversation with her mother, Sanders reportedly expressed aspirations to elevate her military career upon returning home from the Middle East. She also revealed her intention to purchase a motorcycle. Sanders was actively involved in coaching soccer and basketball in her hometown of Waycross, Georgia, and worked at a pharmacy. She was pursuing college courses to become an X-ray technician.
Sanders’ parents shared that she volunteered for deployment to experience different parts of the world. With a history of military service in the family, Sanders had previously deployed to Djibouti and later volunteered for Kuwait, including a stint in Jordan near the Syrian border.
Rivers enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2011 as an interior electrician, according to the U.S. Army Reserve Command Public Affairs Office.
He served “with courage, honor, and a deep sense of duty, embodying the best of New Jersey and our nation,” said Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.). “His death is a profound loss to his family, friends, colleagues, and our entire country, and a reminder of the heavy debt we owe to our military families for their sacrifice.”
U.S. Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), who represents Willingboro, said in a statement that Rivers served this country and local community with great honor and bravery. “We are indebted to him and his loved ones for their service and sacrifice,” Kim stated. “We will never forget what Sergeant Rivers and his fellow fallen soldiers, Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders and Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, gave for our nation.
“We are reminded that the brave men and women who defend our great nation put their lives on the line each and every day to keep our country safe,” said Brig. Gen. Todd Lazaroski, Commanding General of the 412th Theater Engineer Command.