The seventh American service member killed in the United States war with Iran has been identified as a 26-year-old soldier from Glendale, Kentucky.
Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington died Sunday after being seriously injured during an attack on U.S. troops at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, March 1, the Department of Defense said Monday.
”He gave the ultimate sacrifice for the country he loved. That makes him nothing less than a hero, and he will always be remembered that way,” said Gen. Sean A. Gainey, United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command commanding general.
Pennington, who enlisted in the Army in 2017, was assigned to the 1st Space Brigade at Fort Carson, Colorado.
“Sgt. Pennington was a dedicated and experienced noncommissioned officer who led with strength, professionalism and sense of duty,” said Col. Michael F. Dyer, 1st Space Brigade commander.
Pennington, who joined the Army right out of high school, had received numerous awards and decorations. He will be posthumously promoted to staff sergeant.
Vice President JD Vance said Pennington “will be coming home tonight,” while speaking to the International Association of Fire Fighters in Washington, D.C., Monday morning.
“I just want to say that if you are the praying type, and I certainly am, I hope you’ll spare a prayer for the six souls that we lost, for the seventh soul who will be coming home tonight, and for all of their families,” Vance said.
Pennington was described as a “quiet person,” by Mike Bell, the retired pastor of Glendale Christian Church, where Pennington attended services as a child.
“I mean, he never attracted attention because he was just steady doing what he needed to do to do it. Does that make sense?” Bell told the Associated Press.
“This just breaks my heart,” Keith Taul, judge-executive of Hardin County, where Pennington was from, said to AP. “I have known the family for at least 30 years. I can’t imagine the pain and suffering they are experiencing. To lose a single service member is just a devastating blow. But when it is one of our own, we grieve as a community.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called Pennington “a hero who sacrificed everything serving our country,” in a statement shared on social media.
Pennington graduated from Central Hardin High School in 2017. His former automotive tech instructor, Tom Pitt, called him “an American hero.”
“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,” said Pitt, who added that Pennington — whom he called Nate — was a Boy Scout. “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 enlisted that year as a unit supply specialist, and was assigned to the space and missile command on June 10, 2025, the Army said.
On Saturday, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attended the dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, of six U.S. soldiers killed in the war.
The soldiers killed in action were Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa; Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, lowa, who was posthumously promoted from specialist.
The six Army Reserve members were killed by a drone strike at a command center in Kuwait. The group was from the 103rd Sustainment Command, based in Des Moines, Iowa, which provides food, fuel, water and ammunition, transport equipment and supplies. They died a day after the U.S. and Israel launched a joint military campaign against Iran on February 28.
Trump said Saturday there will likely be more U.S. casualties in the conflict with Iran. When asked if he thought he would attend more dignified transfers, Trump said: “I’m sure. I hate to... but it’s part of war.”
Top administration officials also attended the dignified transfer, including Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence.
Hegseth wrote on social media Friday of “an unbreakable spirit to honor their memory and the resolve they embodied.”
Trump, wearing a blue suit, red tie and white USA baseball cap, saluted each coffin as it was carried by service members from the military aircraft to awaiting transfer vehicles. The families of the slain soldiers were also in attendance.
At least 1,230 people have been killed in Iran, more than 300 in Lebanon and about a dozen people in Israel since the conflict began over a week ago, according to the Associated Press.
The U.S. and Israel launched joint military strikes against Iran February 28, killing dozens of Iranian officials, including the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian officials announced his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as Iran’s new supreme leader Sunday.
Iran has retaliated against Israel and U.S. bases and allies in the region. On Sunday, Israel struck Beirut, Lebanon, and an oil storage facility in Tehran, continuing to escalate the conflict.
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