NEW JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, of South Jersey, was one of three soldiers who died in a weekend drone strike on a U.S. base in Jordan near the Syrian border that also wounded more than 40 others.
According to the Defense Department, Rivers, 46, of Willingboro, joined the Army Reserve in New Jersey in 2011 and served a nine-month tour in Iraq in 2018.
Rivers joined the 718th Engineering Company at Fort Moore, in Georgia, last year and lived in Carrollton, which is about 45 miles west of Atlanta.
On Monday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said he plans to sign an executive order later this week lowering their flags to half-staff in his honor.
Spc. Kennedy Sanders and Spc. Breonna Moffett also died in the drone strike. The two became close friends soon after enlisting in the Army Reserve five years ago.
All three soldiers were based at Fort Moore. Families of the slain reservists said they were shocked when uniformed military officers came to their doors to deliver the news Sunday.
Moffett's parents said their daughter celebrated her 23rd birthday oversees just nine days before she was killed.
She joined the Army Reserve in 2019 after graduating from high school. In addition to her military service, she worked for a home care provider cooking, cleaning and running errands for people with disabilities, her parents said.
When Moffett left with fellow soldiers from the 718th Engineer Company, 926th Engineer Battalion, in August, it was her first overseas deployment.
Sanders, 24, had volunteered for the Middle East deployment, eager to see a new part of the world, her parents said.
At home, she helped coach children's soccer and basketball teams. She also worked at a pharmacy while taking college courses with hopes of becoming an X-ray technician. Lately, however, she had considered becoming a full-time soldier on active duty once her Army Reserve contract was fulfilled.
In Sanders' hometown of Waycross, flags were lowered to half-staff.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp issued a statement mourning the “inexcusable loss of life” of the three soldiers, saying they “gave the last full measure of devotion in service to this country.”
Army Brig. Gen. Todd Lazaroski, commander of the Army Reserve's 412th Theater Engineer Command, said in a statement, “they represent the best of America.”
Murphy said he sends out heartfelt sympathies “to all three families who now face the unimaginable pain of losing a cherished loved one.”
“As Americans, we share our gratitude for the soldiers' bravery and sacrifice, and for the courage of every servicemember fighting terrorism at home and abroad, to whom we owe a debt we can never repay.”