Trump travels to honor remains of slain Navy SEAL

President Donald Trump made an unannounced trip to Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday to attend the return of the remains of the first American service member killed in action under his command.

Trump, joined by his daughter Ivanka and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), flew by helicopter to the base for the arrival of the remains of Chief Special Warfare Operator William “Ryan” Owens, 36, who was killed during a special operations raid targeting al Qaeda militants in Yemen over the weekend.


Trump personally approved the raid, the White House said. Multiple other American service members were also wounded during the operation.

Trump thanked Owens for his service Thursday morning in a tweet.

"Attending Chief Ryan Owens' Dignified Transfer yesterday with my daughter Ivanka was my great honor. To a great and brave man - thank you!" he wrote.

The White House initially cast the military effort as a “successful raid,” but press secretary Sean Spicer toned down the administration’s characterization Wednesday, given the loss of life and additional casualties.

“I think it’s hard to ever say something was successful when you lose a life,” Spicer told reporters. “But you’ve got to understand that Chief Owens, he went back, deployed 12 times, because he loved this country and he believed in the mission. And knowing that we killed an estimated 14 AQAP members and that we gathered an unbelievable amount of intelligence that will prevent the potential deaths or attacks on American soil is something that I think most service members understand that that’s why they join the service.”

Trump had previously spoken with Owens’ family members by phone. “I know that when the president spoke to Karen, his wife, and talked about, you know, the three children that he left behind, she continued to be impressed with — to impress upon the president, rather, that while it was an unbelievably sad and emotional time for her and her family, that he loved doing this,” Spicer added.

According to reports, 8-year-old Nawar al-Awlaki, who is known as Nora, was killed in the raid. Her father, Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen and al Qaeda operative, was killed by an American drone strike in Yemen in 2011.