Two of the Army reservists killed in the drone attack in northeastern Jordan Sunday have been posthumously promoted to sergeant, the Pentagon announced Tuesday.
Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, and Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, both held the rank of specialist when they died.
“This promotion is a small token of our immense gratitude for Sgt. Sanders’ and Sgt. Moffett’s service and sacrifice,” said Col. Robert Coker, chief of staff for the 412th Theater Engineer Command.
Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, was also killed. All three were members of the 718th Engineer Company based in southwest Georgia at Fort Moore, previously called Fort Benning. They were deployed near the Syrian border to help fight the Islamic State.
More than 40 other U.S. service members were injured, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said Tuesday. Eight were evacuated from Jordan, including three who were taken to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
The Pentagon has pointed to Iranian proxies as the culprits, though Iran has denied involvement.
“What we do know is Iran-backed militias are responsible for these continued attacks on U.S. forces and that we will respond in a time and manner of our choosing,” Ryder said without elaborating. “While we do not seek to escalate tensions in the region, we will also take all necessary actions to protect our troops, our facilities and our interests.”
Moffett’s, Rivers’ and Sanders’ names will be engraved on a plaque at the Global War on Terrorism Memorial at the National Infantry Museum in Columbus. The memorial’s eight granite panels feature the names of more than 7,000 U.S. service members who have died since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The monument also features a steel beam taken from the wreckage of the World Trade Center.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Moffett joined the Army Reserve shortly after graduating from high school, following in the footsteps of her mother, Francine Moffett, a veteran soldier. She was remembered for her outgoing demeanor, personified by her time as a drum major in the Windsor Forest High School marching band, according to a school official. She led the Mighty Marching Knights as they performed in a New Orleans Mardi Gras parade her senior year.
Moffett’s alma mater will be the site of a Thursday ceremony led by the marching band and the Junior ROTC, another school program in which she participated.
“The pain will never go away and my life is forever changed,” Francine Moffett said in a social media post. “I will never get to cook your favorite food, we will never get to talk on the phone and I will never see you walk through my front door again. Just know that a piece of my heart and soul will always be missing. Love you Baby Girl. Rest Easy. Always will be my first born.”
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
Rivers, who enlisted in 2011 as an interior electrician, completed a nine-month rotation to Iraq before deploying to Jordan.
Shane Davis visited the family’s home in Carrollton Tuesday morning to deliver a plant and a simple message: We are here for you.
“You just try to reach out, that’s what we’re here for,” said Davis, chairman and president of West Georgia First Responders, a local nonprofit. “It really makes you think about when you’re watching the news, it isn’t just somewhere else.”
Barry Gardner, a Carrollton resident and veteran soldier who served at Fort Moore, said Rivers’ death hit close to home. Gardner is president of the Carroll County Veterans Memorial Park Association, which plans to include Rivers’ name on a wall at the park honoring fallen U.S. service members.
“Even though I do not know Sgt. Rivers or his family, we share that brotherhood and my thoughts go out to the family,” Gardner said. “Military families sacrifice more than you’ll ever know and this family gave the ultimate sacrifice.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Sanders graduated from high school in 2017 and attended Valdosta State University before attending Army boot camp a year later. When she was home from the Reserves, she served as a community basketball coach at Waycross Middle School. She also worked at a pharmacy and at Lowe’s, where she was employee of the year in 2022.
On Monday, local officials issued a proclamation stating she exemplified “the highest ideals of honor, duty and selflessness.”
“Kennedy is a blessed person,” said her father, Shawn Sanders, a former Marine. “Now she’s blessing us in ways that we can’t imagine.”
Credit: Joe Kovac
Credit: Joe Kovac
