Judy Gilford
on March 9, 2026
1 view
A family tried to check in with their son on Sunday. He didn't respond. At 8 PM, the doorbell rang. They all knew what it meant.
The family of Sgt. Declan J. Coady, the youngest American soldier killed in the opening hours of the Iran war, has released a statement through his sister, Kiera. Coady was 20 years old, a Drake University student from West Des Moines, Iowa, and an Army Reserve IT specialist who enlisted in 2023. He was posthumously promoted from specialist to sergeant.
Kiera described the night the family learned of his death. On Sunday, March 1, they tried to check in with Declan but heard nothing back. They tried to stay positive, assuming he was in a situation where he couldn't respond. At 8 PM, the doorbell rang. "The rest of that night will forever be one of the worst nights of our lives," she said. "While it's all blurry, we all knew what the doorbell meant."
Kiera said she tried calling her brother, hoping to hear his voice telling her he was safe. "But there was nothing, not even a voicemail." Declan died on the way to the hospital after the drone struck the command center at Port Shuaiba, Kuwait. He was one of six American soldiers killed in the attack.
"Those that don't know him will just know him as another person that died in combat and their lives will go on," Kiera said. "However, for my family, my parents lost a son, and me and my siblings lost a brother. He was truly a rock in all of our lives and was just the most amazing brother and son my family could have asked for."
Dimension: 1347 x 1679
File Size: 182.63 Kb
Sad (4)
Loading...
4