WOODSTOCK, Ga. — A local soldier killed in Jordan last month is back in metro Atlanta, where he will be laid to rest. First Lieutenant Tyler Feehan, 25, died July 18 after an attack at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base.
His body arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on July 22. On Tuesday, his remains were flown back to his home state of Georgia.
Gov. Brian Kemp was at the Cobb County International Airport when the flight landed.
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Cherokee County deputies led a procession from there to Woodstock Funeral Home where the honor guard carried his flag-draped casket inside.
His parents, Stephen and Shari Feehan, were there with the rest of his family, including his fiancée, Claire Fletcher.
“I’m here for his homecoming, but it’s not the homecoming I wanted,” Shari Feehan said.
“We’re devastated, but we’re absolutely so proud of him,” Stephen Feehan said.
They said he was their only child, and he grew up in metro Atlanta and Savannah. He went to Addison Elementary School in Cobb County. At 18, he followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the U.S. Army.
“He was always pushing education,” Stephen Feehan said. “He wanted to leave his soldiers better.”
He said his son loved to travel and hike. The pair walked from France across Northern Spain. He said they climbed a portion of Mount Everest.
“He’s been to over 40 countries,” said Stephen Feehan. “We had so much planned, and he was a go-getter.”
His parents said the Army deployed him to Jordan in July 2025. His job was to intercept missiles heading toward U.S. bases and troops across the region.
They said his return date was set for July 18, 2026. The military extended his deployment orders, but that was the day he died in action that day.
“When we saw the news about the bombing in Jordan, we both, his dad and I, we knew it was him,” Shari Feehan said.
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The military awarded their son with the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for the number of lives he saved during the year-long deployment.
“Three days before the attack, I was like, ‘You know, kid, you’ve done more in 25 years than most people in their life.’ I was proud of that,” said Stephen Feehan.
His parents said they were going through his belongings after his death. They found a list of goals he wrote on paper. He planned to marry his fiancée and start law school when he returned home.
“That’s why we set up a scholarship fund for him,” said his dad.
He said the money will help open doors to education for those in the military.
“That’s what he cared about. He cared about education. He cared about his troops,” Stephen Feehan said.
“I am so proud of him. That is the only thing giving me comfort. He loved his job. He was amazing at his job. He was happy doing what he was doing, and I don’t think I could be more proud as a mom of what he did and what he sacrificed,” said Shari Feehan.
Visitation services are open to the public Thursday at Woodstock Funeral Home on Main St.
His funeral and burial services are scheduled for Friday at the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton.
His parents said they will lay him to rest next to his grandfather, Retired U.S. Air Force Veteran Staff Sgt. Ben Feehan. He also passed in July. Family held his burial services Monday, one day before his grandson’s body arrived in Georgia.
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