A total of 17 American service members have been killed since the start of the Iran war in late February, according to figures confirmed by the U.S. military, with the latest three deaths occurring over the space of 48 hours between July 17 and July 19.
1Lt Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, were supporting a U.S. mission against the Islamic State group in Jordan called “Operation Inherent Resolve” when they were killed during an enemy attack on July 17, 2026, at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, officials said. A third soldier based in Jordan has been listed as missing in action since the Iranian attack on Friday; while remains have since been found, the service member has yet to be identified.
On Tuesday, the Pentagon confirmed the death of Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, “during a controlled detonation of a downed One-Way Unmanned Aerial System” on July 19 at the Erbil Air Base in Iraq.
On Monday, President Donald Trump vowed to punish Iran for the deaths of the U.S. soldiers, saying Tehran will pay for them “many times over.” It is yet another hint that the conflict, now in its 144th day, might still be far from being over - and the U.S. death toll could continue rising.
Below, all the U.S. soldiers who have lost their lives in the Iran war since February 28, when the U.S. launched “Operation Epic Fury.”
Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30
Swinton, a resident of Fayetteville, North Carolina, is the latest confirmed U.S. service member to die during service since the start of the Iran war. He was “decommissioning ammunition and an accident happened,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday. The incident remains under investigation.
While the U.S. military said on Tuesday that Swinton died on Sunday, July 19, an earlier statement by CENTCOM said a service member involved in the incident had died a day earlier, on Saturday, July 18. Another service member was wounded in the incident and was being treated for a “minor injury.”
Sgt. Swinton was assigned to D Battery, 2nd Battalion, 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
“His service will not be forgotten, and his sacrifice is not in vain,” U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC) commanding general Lt. Gen. John L. Rafferty said in a statement. “We will support Sgt. Swinton’s family and his unit during this difficult period. His loss will inspire his fellow Soldiers to continue the mission.”
He was posthumously promoted to staff sergeant and will receive the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge, the USASMDC said. He left behind a wife and a young daughter.
“I didn’t think this would be the last time I ever saw you. I have no words,” his widow wrote on Facebook. “I was informed this morning that my husband, Michael, was killed while serving in Iraq. I’m navigating how to process this so please bear with me.”
1Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25
Feehan died on July 18 from wounds sustained in the attack at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, Jordan, the previous day.
He was a Hawaii resident who enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2019 as a 12B Combat Engineer with the Hawaii Army National Guard. He later commissioned from Brigham Young University as an active-duty Air Defense Artillery Officer in 2024.
He was then assigned to 2nd Battalion, 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, as a platoon leader at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Over his time in the army, he was awarded the Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and Combat Action Badge. He will posthumously receive the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Combat Action Badge, and a promotion to captain.
At the time of his death, Feehan was enrolled as an MBA student of Southern Utah University, as confirmed by the college. The university said he was just weeks away from completing his degree, which will now be awarded posthumously.
Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19
Gonzales, from North Texas, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 10th Army Air Missile Defense Command, in Ansbach, Germany, according to the Pentagon.
A group of her friends spoke to the media about how surreal her death overseas feels only one year after they all graduated from Hebron High School. That is when Gonzales - a daughter and a sister - left for boot camp, they said.
“I think she really did want to make people proud of who she was,” friend Zuleyka Acosta told CBS News. “She wanted to be very disciplined, and she wanted people to view her as someone who was very brave.”
Lewisville ISD confirmed that she had graduated from Hebron High School in the spring of 2025, saying in a statement that her decision “to serve after graduation speaks volumes of her character.”
She is the youngest service member to be killed in the Iran war until now.
Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards, 40
Edwards, a native of Oakland, Oregon, and commanding officer of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5, was identified by the Pentagon as the sailor who had gone missing after a helicopter’s emergency landing in the Arabian Sea on July 1.
He graduated in 2006 from Norfolk State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and then commissioned through the Naval ROTC. With more than 2,000 flight hours on his back in the SH-60F, HH-60H, and MH-60S helicopter airframes, Edwards was a celebrated sailor, aviator, and airman, deeply appreciated within his “brothers and sisters in the naval aviation community,” according to a statement released by the Navy.
While the cause of his disappearance remains under investigation, it is not believed to have been linked to hostile action. Edwards left behind his wife Rebecca and his two children.
In mourning his passing, Rear Adm. Todd Cimicata, commander, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 10 celebrated “Gabe’s legacy as a husband, father, friend and fearless leader” saying in a statement it “will never be forgotten.”
“We are thankful to each who carry a unique and indelible part of Gabe’s memory with us as we continue this important mission,” Cimicata added.
Maj. John A. Klinner, 33
Klinner, who was known as Alex rather than John, was an airman from Alabama. He was among six service members killed on March 12 when his KC-135 refueling plane crashed in western Iraq. The one in the Middle Eastern country was his fourth deployment.
He had completed pilot training in November 2018 and had been assigned to the 92nd Air Refueling Squadron at Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington. He had later completed advanced instrument training and instructor pilot upgrade training in 2022.
Most recently, Klinner had served as chief of squadron standardizations and evaluations as an evaluator pilot in the 99th Air Refueling Squadron at Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base in Birmingham.
An alumnus of Auburn University in Alabama, Klinner was a husband and a father of three young children. Talking to NPR, his sister-in-law Sarah Rose Harrill described him as “selfless, goofy, and generous.”
Capt. Ariana Savino, 31
Air Force Capt. Ariana Linse Savino, of Covington, Washington, was also killed in the same refueling plane crash in western Iraq as Klinner.
She commissioned in the U.S. Air Force in September 2017, originally serving as a navigator on the E-8 JSTAR aircraft prior to flying the KC-135. A member of the 99th Air Refueling Squadron, she was aboard a KC-135 Stratotanker when the plane crashed following an unspecified incident with another U.S. plane.
In a statement reported by the Seattle Times, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Ernesto Nisperos said Savino, whom he had met in 2020, was “a phenomenal officer” and a “role model” known for her “ruthless commitment to making everyone around her better.”
She was a wife, a daughter, a sister, and a proud mom of two dogs who “were her whole world,” according to co-wor