U.S. military officials in Baghdad, Iraq, held a memorial service Monday to remember three U.S. Army soldiers killed in a drone strike in Jordan earlier this year.
The Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve laid a wreath during a war memorial ceremony at Base Union III in Baghdad’s Green Zone, where attendees paid tribute to fallen service members.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. JB Voell, commander of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, writes the names of fallen service members on a Memorial Day wall during a ceremony at Union III in Baghdad, Iraq, May 27, 2024. (U.S. Army)
Staff Sergeant William Rivers, 46, Staff Sergeant Kennedy Sanders, 24, and Staff Sergeant Breonna Moffett, 23, were killed on January 28 in an Iranian proxy drone attack on Tower 22, a small U.S. military outpost in northeastern Jordan on the border with Iraq, Syria and Jordan.
Biden administration reverses policy, allows Catholic groups to hold memorial masses at national cemeteries
LR: Sergeant William Rivers, Specialist Breonna Moffett, Specialist Kennedy Sanders. (Fox News)
The soldiers were stationed at Tower 22, just across the Syrian border, to support the mission of defeating ISIS.
At its peak, more than 100,000 people lived there but were blocked by Jordan at a time of growing concern about the infiltration of extremist groups – fears that arose after a 2016 car bomb attack that killed seven Jordanian border guards.
Soldiers from Operation Inherent Resolve stand in formation and salute the American flag during a veterans memorial ceremony at Union III in Baghdad, Iraq, May 27, 2024. (U.S. Army)
The camp’s capacity has since been reduced to about 7,500 people due to a lack of supplies, according to UN estimates.
The Union III Veterans Memorial Day Wall, Baghdad, Iraq, May 27, 2024. (U.S. Army)
The base began as a Jordanian border surveillance post and grew to have an increased American presence after American forces invaded Syria in late 2015. The small base is home to American engineer, aviation, logistics and security forces, with around 350 Army and Air Force personnel based there.
U.S. Army soldiers with the New Jersey National Guard, 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry Regiment, 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, play Amazing Grace on bagpipes during a Memorial Service for Veterans at Union III in Baghdad, Iraq, May 27, 2024. (U.S. Army)
Click here to get the FOX News app
Rivers, Sanders and Moffett were assigned to the 718th Engineer Company, an Army Reserve unit based at Fort Moore (formerly Fort Benning), Georgia.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
