Candlelight Vigil in Downtown Clovis to Honor Six Troops Killed in Iran War

Dozens of Central Valley residents gathered outside the Clovis Veterans Memorial District Building on 4th Street Sunday evening as Iranian Americans organized a candlelight vigil to honor six U.S. service members killed in a drone attack on a Kuwait base during the opening week of the war with Iran.

The vigil began at 5 p.m. on March 8 outside the building at 808 4th St. in downtown Clovis. Participants held six candles behind photographs of the fallen soldiers, and speakers offered a statement for each one.

Organizers framed the event in unambiguous terms. "The candlelight vigil honors the fallen brave soldiers of the United States who have given their lives fighting the fascist theocracy occupying Iran and threatening the entire world with its violence and hatred," their statement read.

The six service members remembered at the vigil were Capt. 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; Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa; Maj. Jeffrey O'Brien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa; and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Sacramento.

Marzan's Sacramento roots gave the gathering a particular regional weight, placing one of the fallen within a few hours' drive of the Central Valley communities whose members came out to pay their respects.

The choice of the Clovis Veterans Memorial District Building as a backdrop was deliberate, situating a community more often associated with Iran's opposition squarely within a space dedicated to American military service. The Iranian American community of the Central Valley has been a visible voice in the region since the conflict escalated, and Sunday's vigil represented one of its most visible public expressions of solidarity with U.S. forces since fighting began.