Donald Trump on Saturday joined the families of six US soldiers killed in the war in the Middle East during a dignified transfer ritual at Dover air force base.

A “dignified transfer” is when the remains of US service members killed in action are returned to the US.

The soldiers were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait earlier this week, as the US and Israel continue its regime-change war in Iran.

The transfer is considered one of the most somber duties of any commander-in-chief. During Saturday’s event, the president wore a Trump-branded “USA” golf cap. Cellphones were not allowed during the entirety of the dignified transfer.

In addition to the president, some members of his cabinet were present, including JD Vance, the vice-president; Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary; Pam Bondi, the attorney general; and others.

Trump, speaking at a summit of Latin American leaders in Miami on Saturday before his trip to Dover air force base, said the fallen service members were heroes “coming home in a different manner than they thought they’d be coming home”. He said it was “a very sad situation” and pledged to keep American war deaths “to a minimum”.

Those killed in action were Sgt first class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; Capt Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Chief warrant officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California; Maj Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Indianola, Iowa; Sgt first class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; and Sgt Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, lowa, who was posthumously promoted from specialist.

The families of the six army reserve members were present during the transfer.

The six soldiers were killed by a drone strike at a command center in Kuwait. They were all from the 103rd sustainment command based in Des Moines, Iowa, which provides food, fuel, water, ammunition, transport equipment and supplies, the Associated Press reported. They died just one day after the US and Israel launched its military campaign against Iran.

During the ritual, transfer cases draped with the American flag and holding the remains of the fallen soldiers are carried from the military aircraft that transported them to an awaiting vehicle to take them to the mortuary facility at the base.

Amor’s husband, Joey Amor, said earlier this week that she had been scheduled to return home to him and their two children within days, the Associated Press reports.

“You don’t go to Kuwait thinking something’s going to happen, and for her to be one of the first – it hurts,” Joey Amor said.

O’Brien had served in the Army reserve for nearly 15 years, according to his LinkedIn account, and his aunt said in a post on Facebook that O’Brien “was the sweetest blue-eyed, blonde farm kid you’d ever know. He is so missed already.”

Marzan’s sister described him in a Facebook post as a “strong leader” and loving husband, father and brother.

“My baby brother, you are loved and I will hold onto all our memories and cherish them always in my heart,” Elizabeth Marzan wrote.

Coady was among the youngest people in his class, trained to troubleshoot military computer systems, but he impressed his instructors, his father, Andrew Coady, told the Associated Press.

“He trained hard, he worked hard, his physical fitness was important to him. He loved being a soldier,” Coady said. “He was also one of the most kindest people you would ever meet, and he would do anything and everything for anyone.”

Khork’s family described him as “the life of the party” who was known for his “infectious spirit” and “generous heart” and who had wanted to serve in the military since childhood.

“That commitment helped shape the course of his life and reflected the deep sense of duty that was always at the core of who he was,” according to a statement from his mother, Donna Burhans, his father, James Khork, and his stepmother, Stacey Khork.

Tietjens, who came from a military family, previously served alongside his father in Kuwait. When he returned home in February 2010, he reunited with his overjoyed wife in a local church’s gym.

Tietjens’s cousin Kaylyn Golike asked for prayers, especially for Tietjens’s 12-year-old son, wife and parents, as they navigate “unimaginable loss”.

Trump most recently traveled to Dover in December for another dignified transfer for two Iowa national guard members and a US civilian interpreter. The three were killed in an ambush attack in the Syrian desert.

During Trump’s first term, he attended dignified transfers several times, including for a Navy Seal killed during a raid in Yemen, for two army officers whose helicopter crashed in Afghanistan and for two army soldiers killed in Afghanistan when a person wearing an Afghan army uniform opened fire.

Hugo Lowell contributed reporting