Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders

Specialist Kennedy Ladon Sanders was a 24-year-old U.S. Army Reserve soldier from Waycross, Georgia. She was assigned to the 718th Engineer Company, 926th Engineer Battalion, 926th Engineer Brigade, based at Fort Moore, Georgia. Sanders was serving in an engineering support role at the time of her death.

On January 28, 2024, a one-way attack drone struck the sleeping quarters at Tower 22, a remote U.S. logistics support base in northeastern Jordan near the borders with Syria and Iraq. The explosion killed three U.S. Army Reserve soldiers, including Spc. Sanders, and wounded more than 40 other service members. The U.S. Department of Defense stated the drone was launched by an Iranian-backed militia group.

The attack occurred amid a series of strikes and counterstrikes across the Middle East following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023. Iran-backed militias, operating as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, had launched over 160 attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria prior to the Jordan strike. Tower 22 supports the U.S. mission in Syria, known as Operation Inherent Resolve, which is focused on preventing a resurgence of the Islamic State group.

President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin publicly condemned the attack and vowed a response. Sanders, along with the two other soldiers killed, was posthumously promoted. Their remains were returned to the U.S. in a dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base on February 2, 2024.

In statements, Sanders's family described her as a dedicated soldier who loved her country and was proud to serve. Her father, a U.S. Army veteran, said she had planned to make a career in the military. A public memorial service was held in her hometown of Waycross.

Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders was killed during US Forces - Iraq & Syria Theater (from January 2020 to November -0001). The conflict concluded in November -0001. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.

Among those documented in the same conflict: Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett.

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