Vice President J.D. Vance joined the grieving family of a Kentucky man who was the seventh American soldier to die in combat during the Iran War as his remains were returned to the United States on Monday evening.
The dignified transfer, a formal event that honors U.S. service members killed in action, was conducted at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for Army Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Kentucky. A Pentagon statement said that the prince died on Sunday from his wounds during an attack that occurred on March 1 on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saluted alongside high-ranking military officials as the carrier bag covered in the American flag was transferred from the military plane to a waiting vehicle.
Mike Bell, a retired pastor at Glendale Christian Church, said he has known Pennington since he was a young child and received a phone call from Pennington’s father when the soldier was shot.
“I spoke to Tim on Saturday morning, he was doing a little better, and they were talking about the possibility of taking him to Germany,” Bell said. Bell said Tim Pennington called again that evening to ask for prayers because his son’s condition was deteriorating, and later told him the soldier had died of his wounds.
“He was just a quiet person,” Bell said, noting that Pennington attended an after-school church program. “I mean he never attracted attention because he was so consistent in doing what he had to do.”
State and local officials grieve
Pennington is assigned to the 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command based at Fort Carson, Colorado.
The unit’s mission focused on “missile warning, GPS, and long-range satellite communications,” according to its website.
“This breaks my heart,” Keith Toole, judge-executive of Hardin County, where Pennington is from, said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press. “I have known the family for at least 30 years. I cannot imagine the pain and suffering they are going through.”
Glendale is an unincorporated city of about 300 people south of the Hardin County seat of Elizabethtown.
In a statement posted on social media, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called Pennington “a hero who sacrificed everything to serve our country.”
Six other soldiers were killed
The other six service members killed since the conflict began on February 28 were Army reservists who were killed in Kuwait when an Iranian drone struck an operations center in a civilian port.
President Donald Trump on Saturday joined grieving families at Dover Air Force Base in the dignified transfer of these six American soldiers.
Gracious transportation is one of the most daunting duties of any commander in chief. During his first term, Trump said certifying the transfer was “the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do” as president.
“American hero”
Pennington graduated in 2017 from Central Hardin High School, where he was enrolled in the automotive technology track, district spokesman John Wright told the AP. Former automotive technology instructor Tom Pitt, who taught Pennington in 2017 at Hardin County Early College and Career Center, called him an “American hero.”
“A lot of times as a teacher, you have students who are smart, and you have students who are charismatic, likable, and dare I say, charming,” said Pete, who contacted Pennington Nett. “You rarely have students who are all of those. Ben Pennington was all of those. He was basically the model All-American.”
Photos on his and his family’s Facebook pages show Pennington attaining the rank of Eagle Scout in August 2017. His Eagle project was to demolish some old baseball dugouts in Glendale, said Darren Leif, former committee president for Troop 221.
“If you looked up Eagle Scout, his picture would probably be there,” said Leif, who knew Pennington throughout his Scouting career. “He loved his country. I expected nothing less from him to lose his life to protect his country.”
Awards and honors
A month after the Eagle ceremony, Pennington posted a photo of himself taking the oath of enlistment. He entered service as a supply specialist for the unit and was assigned to Space and Missile Command on June 10, 2025, the Army said in a statement.
Among his awards and decorations are the Military Commendation Medal, the Military Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon.
“The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command is deeply saddened by the loss of Staff Sergeant Pennington,” said Lt. Gen. Sean A. Gainey, commanding general, USSMDC. “He made the ultimate sacrifice for the country he loved.”
Col. Michael F. Dyer, commander of the 1st Space Brigade, described Pennington as a “dedicated and experienced noncommissioned officer who led with strength, professionalism and a sense of duty.”
Pennington will be posthumously promoted to staff sergeant, the Pentagon said.