Shock, grief and mourning for 3 Georgia-based U.S. soldiers killed in Middle East drone strike
CTV
The three citizen-soldiers from different corners of Georgia all died in a weekend drone strike on a U.S. base in Jordan near the Syrian border that also wounded more than 40 others. Families of the slain reservists said they were shocked when uniformed military officers came to their doors to deliver the news Sunday.
Described by their parents as bubbly and constantly laughing, Spc. Kennedy Sanders and Spc. Breonna Moffett became close friends soon after enlisting in the Army Reserve five years ago. Sgt. William Jerome Rivers served a tour in Iraq before joining the same company of Army engineers.
The three citizen-soldiers from different corners of Georgia all died in a weekend drone strike on a U.S. base in Jordan near the Syrian border that also wounded more than 40 others. Families of the slain reservists said they were shocked when uniformed military officers came to their doors to deliver the news Sunday.
While President Joe Biden has promised the U.S. will respond, Moffett's parents said they hope there's no escalation in violence that kills more American troops. Their daughter celebrated her 23rd birthday oversees just nine days before she was killed.
"I just hope and pray no other family has to go through this," Francine Moffett, the young soldier's mother, said Monday through tears at the dining table of her Savannah home. "It takes your heart and your soul."
Breonna Moffitt joined the Army Reserve in 2019 after graduating from high school. In addition to her military service, she worked for a home care provider cooking, cleaning and running errands for people with disabilities, her parents said. When Moffett left with fellow soldiers from the 718th Engineer Company, 926th Engineer Battalion based at Fort Moore in August, it was her first overseas deployment.
She was the oldest of four siblings. Every morning, Francine Moffett said, her 8-year-old daughter would call her big sister to say hello while riding to school.
Whenever the Moffett family called, they typically would hear from Sanders too.
