Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor had been counting down the days until she could return home to her family in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. She never made it back.
On Sunday, March 2, 2026, a drone struck an outpost in Kuwait where Amor and fellow service members were stationed. She was 39 years old, a mother of two, and just days away from the end of her deployment. She was one of six U.S. military personnel killed in the attack.
Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor
U.S. Army Reserve
Her husband, Joey Amor, said he last spoke with her about two hours before the strike. They had been exchanging messages — she had mentioned tripping and falling the night before. The next morning, he sent her a message and waited.
“She just never responded,” he said. “She was almost home. You don’t go to Kuwait thinking something’s going to happen.”
Nicole Amor enlisted in the National Guard in 2005 as an automated logistics specialist, later transferring to the Army Reserve. She had previously deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019. At the time of her death, she was assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, an Army Reserve unit based in Iowa.
This undated photo provided by Joey Amor shows Nicole Amor, left, and Joey Amor smiling for a photo. (Joey Amor via AP)
AP
Those who knew her described a woman who poured the same energy into everyday life that she brought to her service. She was an enthusiastic gardener who grew peppers and tomatoes in her backyard, and she and her teenage son had a tradition of making homemade salsa together each harvest season. She also loved rollerblading and bicycling, often taking her younger daughter along.
About a week before the attack, her unit had been moved off the main base and dispersed into smaller groups across separate locations — a precaution commanders took out of concern the primary base could be targeted. The structure where Amor was sheltering offered little protection.
She was one of four soldiers publicly identified by the Pentagon. The others were Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; and Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, who was posthumously promoted from the rank of Specialist. Two additional service members had not yet been publicly named.
The strikes came one day after the United States and Israel launched military operations targeting Iran. Iranian forces responded with drone and missile attacks against Israel and Gulf Arab nations hosting U.S. troops.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz paid tribute to Amor publicly, saying she had answered the call to serve and given her life for her state and country.
For her husband and children, no tribute fills the silence of an unanswered message.
