News and Commentary

Trump Flies Unannounced To Dover AFB After N.H. Rally To Pay Respects To Two Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan

Joseph Curl
Trump Flies Unannounced To Dover AFB After N.H. Rally To Pay Respects To Two Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

After a raucous campaign rally in New Hampshire, President Trump on Monday took an unannounced trip to Dover Air Force Base to take part in a somber “dignified transfer ceremony” for two 28-year-old soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

After a brief prayer inside a C-17 transport plane, the president and Vice President Mike Pence stood at attention in a light rain as two U.S. flag-draped transfer cases were carried down the plane’s ramp by six members of the military wearing white gloves. The cases contained the remains of Sgt. 1st Class Antonio R. Rodriguez, of Las Cruces, New Mexico, and Sgt. 1st Class Javier J. Gutierrez, of San Antonio, Texas, who both died Saturday in a firefight in Nangarhar Province.

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