Biden attends the dignified transfer at Dover for service members killed in Jordan

One by one, the transfer cases carrying the remains of Sgt. William Jerome Rivers, 46, of Carrollton, Ga.; Sgt. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett, 23, of Savannah, Ga.; and Sgt. Kennedy Ladon Sanders, 24, of Waycross, Ga. were carefully carried off a gray C-5 transport plane.

They were all Army reservists, killed last weekend in a drone attack on a military outpost in Jordan near the Syrian border.

President Biden stood with his hand over his heart, an expression of deep pain on his face, looking straight ahead as the flag-draped cases were brought past him. First lady Jill Biden, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Q. Brown stood nearby.

It is one of the most solemn tasks for a commander-in-chief, bearing witness as the bodies of fallen service members return to U.S. soil at Dover Air Force Base. It is known as a dignified transfer and it is freighted with emotion as family members of the fallen watch as the cases are carried from the plane.

The family members had met with the Bidens before the dignified transfer began, and watched the solemn movement from a small section of white folding chairs set up on the tarmac out of view from the members of the media who travel with the president.

The U.S. government is still investigating how Iranian-backed militants were able to successfully attack the outpost. Biden told reporters earlier this week that he has already authorized a response. The White House has said that the response would include a series of actions and would roll out over time.

On Thursday, Biden said he was praying for the families of the three service members who were killed.

"I spoke with each of these families separately," Biden said at the national prayer