Donald Trump Travels to Dover for Dignified Transfer of Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan

President Donald Trump traveled to Dover, Delaware, on Monday for a dignified transfer ceremony of two American soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

The president flew to Dover after his New Hampshire political rally and was joined by Vice President Mike Pence for the ceremony.

SFC Antonio R. Rodriguez from Las Cruces, NM, and SFC Javier J. Gutierrez from San Antonio, TX, were killed on Saturday in Afghanistan after a man dressed in an Afghan army uniform opened fire with a machine gun on Afghan and American troops.

Both men were 28.

“These were fallen heroes and we were close by and the president wrapped his rally early so he could come,” National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien told the press.

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Vice President Mike Pence (2nd R) observe the dignified transfer of two U.S. soldiers, killed in Afghanistan, at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on February 10, 2020 with . – The two soldiers have been identified as Sgt. 1st Class Javier Jaguar Gutierrez, 28, of San Antonio, TX, and Sgt. 1st Class Anonio Rey Rodriguez, 28, of Las Cruces, New Mexico. U.S. and Afghan troops came under “direct fire” in eastern Afghanistan late on February 8, a U.S. military official said. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

The transfer ceremony occurred at about 11:00 p.m.

The two flag-draped cases were transferred from a C-17 by the army carry team and loaded into vehicles.

The president shared the news on Twitter after he returned to the White House.

“Just returned to White House from Dover,” he wrote. “Very sad!”

The president frequently refers to the dignified transfers in Dover while making the case to end the wars in the Middle East.

“We got to get out of the endless wars. We have to bring our troops back home,” Trump said at a press conference in October. “I go to Walter Reed and I give out Purple Hearts … I see the incredible soldiers coming home to Dover, coming home in a coffin, on areas that we have nothing to do with and it’s heartbreaking.”

DOVER, DE - FEBRUARY 10: U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence watch as military personnel carry a transfer case for fallen service member, for fallen service member, U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Javier J. Gutierrez, 28, during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base on February 10, 2020 in Dover, Delaware. Gutierrez and U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Antonio R. Rodriguez were both killed in an attack in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on Saturday, according to a Department of Defense release. (Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images)

U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence watch as military personnel carry a transfer case for fallen service member, for fallen service member, U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Javier J. Gutierrez, 28, during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base on February 10, 2020 in Dover, Delaware. ( Mark Makela/Getty Images)

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