were killed in Syria<\/a>. The U.S. military blamed the Islamic State group.<\/p>\n\u201cI can\u2019t imagine the sacrifice,\u201d the governor said.<\/p>\n
Also among those killed in Kuwait was Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54. Though he was from Sacramento, California, he served with others from Iowa, including Lucas Schafroth, who called news of his death devastating.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, he was my greatest mentor in life. I mean, I\u2019m the father I am today \u2014 I\u2019m the man I am today \u2014 because of him,\u201d said Schafroth, who is from Waukee, Iowa, and served his entire 13-year Army Reserve career with Marzan. \u201cI took a lot of life lessons from him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schafroth was 18 and a fresh high school graduate in 2008 when he first met Marzan, and the older man put a computer in his hands and told him to learn it. Later he sat Schafroth down to go over goals and help him work out a five-year plan for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was just an incredible man,\u201d said Schaforth. \u201cAnd he did that for everyone he met. Every single one of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The men stayed close after Schaforth, who is now 35 and works in cybersecurity, left the military in 2021. <\/p>\n
\u201cRob and I had plans for him when he got home to sit down and put together our business plans,\u201d he said. \u201cHe and I both wanted to start our own small businesses, and we were going to help each other kind of nail down all the details.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tina Marzan said her husband\u2019s deployment was supposed to end in a couple of months, and the family had been planning to celebrate his April birthday when he returned.<\/p>\n
The military has identified the three other soldiers killed in Kuwait as: Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida, and Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, of Bellevue, Nebraska.<\/p>\n
In the evening Thursday, a martial arts studio where Tietjens practiced in Bellevue held a memorial class in his honor. <\/p>\n
Grand Master Julius Melegrito led the class through 43 repetitions of several exercises because the day would have been Tietjens’ 43rd birthday. <\/p>\n
Melegrito said Tietjens was always willing to give and help others, noting that he participated in Zoom classes while deployed and taught fellow soldiers martial arts. <\/p>\n
Tietjens, his wife and his 12-year-old son all earned black belts at the suburban Omaha studio, which is part of the Philippine Martial Arts Alliance International.<\/p>\n
ProCircular, a cybersecurity company where O’Brien worked, praised his \u201cuplifting humor\u201d and \u201ccalm guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis quiet strength and expertise protected countless systems and left a lasting impact on everyone privileged to work with him,\u201d CEO Aaron Warner said.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Associated Press writers Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska, and Josh Funk in Bellevue, Nebraska, contributed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
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