Iowa soldier hurt in Iran war strike said blast threw him 10 feet
Iowa soldier hurt in Iran war strike said blast threw him 10 feet
Kyle Werner, Des Moines RegisterThu, April 23, 2026 at 1:41 PM UTC
0
All Lt. Col. Tim Halbur remembers is waking up to smoke surrounding him after the March 1 attack in Kuwait that killed six soldiers and injured nine more.
Halbur, 44, of Ankeny, was one of four Iowans injured in the Iranian drone attack at the Shuaiba Port, just one day after the Iran war began.
"When I woke up, it was just so dark — all the smoke and the soot and everything," Halbur said in a phone interview with the Des Moines Register. He spoke to the Register on Tuesday, April 21, from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, where he is being treated.
The blast fractured his right ulna in four places, leaving him with shrapnel wounds. He also suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Halbur and the names of others injured in the attack were read for the first time in public from the Iowa House floor April 7. They are all soldiers of the 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, a supply and logistics unit based in the Fort Des Moines Joint Reserve Complex in Des Moines.
The House chamber filled with applause as Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, read their names:
Lt. Col. Jay Feldt
Lt. Col. Tim Halbur
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jonathan Tenbrink
Chief Warrant Officer 2 John Sutton
Master Sgt. Joshua Steinback
Sgt. First Class Cory Hicks
Sgt. First Class Bryan Yoon
Staff Sgt. Brian Kelley
Staff Sgt. Joshua Wheaton
Four of those injured are from Iowa: Feldt of Buckingham, Halbur of Ankeny, Steinback of Toledo, and Kelley of Urbandale.
Their commanding officer, Master Sgt. Anthony Cade, confirmed their identities but could not provide more information. The U.S. Army Reserve declined to comment, including where the soldiers are from and the extent of their injuries.
During a personal point of privilege, Rep. Rob Johnson, D-Des Moines, said these soldiers were "forced to endure the realities of war." They continued to recover at Walter Reed as of April 7, he said.
"This, ladies and gentlemen, is what service looks like," Johnson said. "This is a sacrifice. And it calls on us not just to give gratitude, but also our responsibility to ensure that when these soldiers return home, they are met with more than just words, but they're met with care, with resources, with support."
"To these soldiers — Iowa sees you," Kaufmann said. "Iowa stands with you, and Iowa's praying for your full and speedy recovery."
Iowa soldier recounts attack while recovering at Walter Reed
Tim Halbur, center, his wife, Holly, and their two children are pictured while he recovers at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after he was injured in the March 1 Iranian attack in Kuwait.
Halbur said the unit had been in the bunker all morning given threats of nearby missiles or drones. The soldiers had gotten the all-clear about 30 minutes before the attack. His crew left the bunker and "everybody went back to work" coordinating ammunition transportation, he said.
He said others saw or heard the drone that attacked the port but he didn't. He woke up to a plume of smoke and soot, 10 feet away from where he sat before the blast.
"I'm looking on the ground like, 'What just happened? Why can't I see anything? Why does my arm hurt so bad?'" he said.
Advertisement
A satellite image reviewed by the showed the main building in the port destroyed, the news service reported. The building was described as a shipping container-style building for tactical operations.
Halbur said he could have bled out from his injuries but another soldier put a tourniquet on his arm. He said there were "a lot of soldiers that were just running into a burning building to help save their friends."
"We were all helping each other out as much as possible," he said.
A doctor in Kuwait who tried to stabilize his arm pinched his radial nerve, which made him temporarily lose function in his right hand.
Halbur, who arrived back in the U.S. at Walter Reed on March 7, said his recovery has been "slow," but he was recently released to outpatient care. His wife and two children recently visited, seeing him for the first time since the attack.
"None of us know exactly when we'll be getting out of here," said Halbur, adding they don't know what will happen after they are released. They are "figuring it out as they go," he said.
"We're still trying to come to terms with the ones that we lost," Halbur said. "I'm feeling just horrible for their families ... we're all having those feelings of, you know, 'What could I have done?' and wishing we could all have done something to prevent that."
Wife of soldier expected 'the worst,' was met by 'tremendous support'
Gina Feldt, 41, of Buckingham, an unincorporated town about a half hour south of Waterloo, visited her husband for the first time at Walter Reed on March 8. She said she was "expecting the worst."
Jay Feldt, left, his wife, Gina, and their two children are pictured while he recovers at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after he was injured in the March 1 Iranian attack in Kuwait.
"He was doing quite well, by the time I saw him," she said.
Jay Feldt, 43, suffered from a traumatic brain injury and shrapnel wounds that required stitches. He was recently released to outpatient care.
Gina Feldt said she and her family have received "so much support" at the hospital and back home in Iowa.
"Through both of the places that we work, and family, and school, the outreach has been amazing," she said. "They say when things like this arise, that's when people show up. And that is so true. Just with financial help, with food support, when things are really crazy, child care, just people stopping over, lots of prayers. It's all appreciated."
Six soldiers were killed in Kuwait attack
Clockwise from top left: Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, Sgt. Declan Coady, Maj. Jeffrey O'Brien, Capt. Cody Khork, Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens and Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor.
Six soldiers died in the attack. All served for the 103rd Sustainment in Des Moines. They were:
Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines
Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, of Waukee
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento, California, and previously of West Des Moines
Maj. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida
Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska
Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota
Kyle Werner is the breaking news and public safety reporter for the Register. Reach him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa soldier hurt in Iran war recounts strike that killed 6, injured 9
Source: “AOL Breaking”
