Vance Attends Dignified Transfer for Kentucky Soldier Killed in Iran Conflict [WATCH]

Vice President JD Vance attended a dignified transfer ceremony Monday evening at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for Army Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, a 26-year-old soldier from Glendale, Kentucky, who died after being wounded during an attack tied to the ongoing conflict with Iran, as reported by The New York Post.

Pennington was the seventh U.S. service member to die in combat since the conflict began on Feb. 28.

According to a Pentagon statement, he was wounded during a March 1 attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia and died Sunday from those injuries.

#PENTAGON: 7th U.S. service member killed in Iran war

“Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Glendale, Ky., died of his wounds on March 8, 2026, from injuries sustained during an enemy attack on March 1, 2026, at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia,” the March 9 statement said.… pic.twitter.com/gwZ6Jugw7E

— Politics On (@PoliticsOnX) March 9, 2026

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The dignified transfer ceremony, a military tradition honoring service members killed in action, took place as Pennington’s remains were returned to the United States.

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Vice President Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stood alongside senior military officials as the transfer case draped with the American flag was carried from the aircraft and placed into a waiting vehicle.

.@VP attends the dignified transfer of Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, an Army Space and Missile Defense Command soldier killed in Operation Epic Fury.

May God grant eternal rest to this American hero, be with his family, and forever bless the United States of America. pic.twitter.com/mvdgIAIojg

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 10, 2026

Pennington was assigned to the 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command based at Fort Carson, Colorado.

According to the unit’s website, its mission focuses on missile warning, GPS operations, and long-haul satellite communications.

The soldier’s death has deeply affected the small community where he grew up. Glendale, Kentucky, is an unincorporated town of about 300 residents located south of the Hardin County seat of Elizabethtown.

Mike Bell, a retired pastor at Glendale Christian Church who had known Pennington since childhood, described receiving updates from the soldier’s father after Pennington was injured.

“I talked to Tim Saturday morning, and he was doing a little better, and they were talking about maybe moving him to Germany,” Bell said.

Later that same day, Bell said Pennington’s father called again, asking for prayers as his son’s condition worsened. Bell later learned the soldier had died from his injuries.

Bell described Pennington as a quiet and steady individual who participated in church activities growing up.

“He was just a quiet person,” said Bell, noting that Pennington attended the church’s after-school program. “I mean, he never attracted attention because he was just steady doing what he needed to do to do it.”

Local and state officials also expressed condolences to the family. Hardin County Judge-Executive Keith Taul said the loss had deeply impacted the community.

“This just breaks my heart,” Taul said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. “I have known the family for at least 30 years. I can’t imagine the pain and suffering they are experiencing.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear also commented on the loss in a statement posted on social media, describing Pennington as “a hero who sacrificed everything serving our country.”

Pennington graduated from Central Hardin High School in 2017, where he participated in the school’s automotive technology pathway, according to district spokesman John Wright.

Former instructor Tom Pitt, who taught Pennington at the Hardin County Early College and Career Center, remembered him as a standout student.

“A lot of times as a teacher, you have students who are smart, you have students who are charismatic, who are likable, dare I say, enchanting,” Pitt said.

“Rarely do you have students who are all of those. And Ben Pennington was all of those. He was basically the quintessential all-American.”

Pennington was also an Eagle Scout. Photos shared on social media by him and family members show he earned the rank in August 2017.

His Eagle Scout project involved demolishing old baseball dugouts in Glendale, according to Darin Life, a former committee chairman for Troop 221.

“If you look up Eagle Scout, his picture’s probably there,” Life said. “He loved his country. I would have expected nothing less of him than to lose his life protecting his country.”

About a month after earning Eagle Scout, Pennington posted a photo of himself taking the oath of enlistment.

He entered the Army as a unit supply specialist and was assigned to the Space and Missile Defense Command on June 10, 2025, according to the Army.

His military decorations included the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon.

Lt. Gen. Sean A. Gainey, commanding general of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, issued a statement following the soldier’s death.

“The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command is deeply saddened by the loss of Sgt. Pennington,” Gainey said. “He gave the ultimate sacrifice for the country he loved.”

Col. Michael F. Dyer, commander of the 1st Space Brigade, also reflected on Pennington’s service.

“A dedicated and experienced noncommissioned officer who led with strength, professionalism and sense of duty,” Dyer said.

The Pentagon said Pennington will be posthumously promoted to the rank of staff sergeant.

Pennington’s death follows the loss of six other American service members earlier in the conflict. The six were Army reservists killed in Kuwait when an Iranian drone struck an operations center at a civilian port.

President Donald Trump attended the dignified transfer ceremony Saturday at Dover Air Force Base for those six service members. The ceremony is considered one of the most solemn responsibilities for a commander-in-chief.

During his first term, Trump said witnessing such transfers was “the toughest thing I have to do” as president.

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