The family of fallen soldier Sgt. Declan J. Coady has released a statement following his death at Shuaiba port in Kuwait, calling him “a rock in all of our lives” and “the most amazing brother and son my family could have asked for.”

Coady was among six American troops killed in the opening hours of the war with Iran. All soldiers were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, an Army Reserve unit based in Des Moines, Iowa.

In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Army Reserve on March 3, 2026, pictured is Sergeant Declan Coady (posthumously promoted from Specialist), 20.

In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Army Reserve on March 3, 2026, pictured is Sergeant Declan Coady (posthumously promoted from Specialist), 20.
Photo by Handout/ U.S. Army Reserve via Getty Images

“On Sunday, March 1, after trying to check in, we heard nothing. Trying to be positive we all assumed he was just in a situation where he couldn’t message back, but we all knew something was wrong,” Declan Coady’s sister, Kiera, said in the statement. “At 8 p.m. as we all were getting ready to go to bed, the doorbell rang, and the rest of that night will forever be one of the worst nights of our lives. While it’s all blurry, we all knew what the doorbell meant.”

Coady, along with five other American soldiers, died in the same attack at Shuaiba port in Kuwait, a commercial harbor that doubles as a logistics hub through which the U.S. military ships tactical vehicles and supplies into the region.

“As his older sister, I can’t quite comprehend it even now, but the only thing I can think is that I wish I had called him one more time and told him I loved him,” Kiera said. “I wish that I had been able to be there or trade places with him or anything just so he could have known he was safe and that we loved him and he didn’t need to be scared He was supposed to be 21 on May 5. He was just a baby.”

Kiera said that he died on the way to the hospital after sustaining injuries in the attack. Coady, who was posthumously promoted from specialist, enlisted in the Army in 2023.

“It’s hard to say anything because 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.”

Kiera said she tried calling him when she found out, hoping that it was all “an awful dream and maybe I would hear his voice telling us he was safe.”

“But there was nothing, not even a voicemail,” she said.

“I wish I could think of words beyond that he was smart and kind and amazing, but even if I were to throw in other words it still wouldn’t quite capture his spirit,” Kiera said. “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.”