The U.S. military identifies the third service member believed to have died in the Iranian attack

North Carolina . — The U.S. military has confirmed that a third service member is believed to have died in Friday’s attack on a base in Jordan and identified him as Sergeant Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of New York.

This confirmation brings to 18 the number of U.S. service members who have died since the war began.

On Monday, the Pentagon identified First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Specialist Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, as the other two soldiers who died in Jordan during Friday’s attacks. The soldiers were killed by Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks, marking the first troop casualties from direct Iranian fire since the start of the war. They were deployed to support a U.S. mission against the Islamic State group, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command.

Following the attack, the United States Central Command announced that two service members had died and another was missing. The following day, the military command reported that troops had found unidentified remains and that an examination process had been initiated to verify their authenticity.

Now, the Pentagon states that Rampersad is believed to be the missing soldier and that her official status is “Active duty, whereabouts unknown,” and that she is “believed to be deceased.”

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Rampersad belonged to the same unit as Gonzales: the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, based in Ansbach, Germany.

Likewise, the American soldier who died in Iraq during the controlled detonation of an Iranian drone was identified as Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton, a 30-year-old father from North Carolina who had served for nearly a decade, according to a military statement issued on Tuesday and his family.

Swinton will receive the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and the Combat Action Badge, and will be promoted to sergeant major. The Army reported that it is investigating the circumstances of his death on Sunday at an air base in Erbil.

He leaves behind a 6-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter, according to his mother.

“I will never recover from this,” his wife, Mia Gonzalez-Swinton, posted on Facebook on Monday. “We had so many plans for when you returned, I feel terrible.” She said she was notified on Sunday that he had passed away.

Two U.S. Army soldiers also died in Jordan last week while defending their positions from
Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. They were the first U.S. troop deaths from direct Iranian fire since the early days of the war.

His wife and children were the center of his world, according to what his mother, Christel Swinton Andujar, stated to the Associated Press agency.

“His legacy will endure through the countless lives he touched, the laughter he shared, the strength he imparted to others, and the unconditional love he gave to his family,” he expressed via text message. “We will always miss him, we will always honor him, and he will always be our hero.”

Swinton enlisted in the Army in 2017 and was assigned to the 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

According to public records, he lived in Spring Lake, a popular place off-base for Fort Bragg families. The Army indicated that his hometown was Fayetteville, another nearby community.

“Sergeant Swinton was an experienced non-commissioned officer who took great pride in his work and the people around him,” stated Brigadier General John L. Dawber, commanding general of the Army Air and Missile Defense Command. “He answered the call of duty with courage, honor, and selfless dedication.”

Clashes between the United States and Iran resumed ten days ago, with both sides launching intense attacks. Iran has targeted U.S. allies in the region, and American soldiers are deployed throughout the Middle East.

Iranian authorities claim that U.S. attacks in the last three weeks have caused the death of at least 50 people and have injured more than 500.

Both sides have attacked civilian infrastructure upon which millions of people depend. Ship workers, as well as foreign workers and other citizens of Gulf countries, Israel, and Lebanon, have also died in the conflict.

The United States Department of State warned Americans that “Iran and groups that support Iran could attack other U.S. interests abroad or in places associated with the United States and Americans worldwide.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has declared that war is necessary to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Trump, a Republican, now faces political pressure to end the war and avoid the type of prolonged conflict in the Middle East that he campaigned against. The escalation has caused a rise in oil prices in recent weeks.

This news story has been corrected to state that Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton passed away on Sunday, and not on Saturday, as the army had previously reported.