Soldier's body arrives at Dover Air Force Base

WPVI logo
Sunday, September 8, 2019
Soldier's body arrives at Dover Air Force Base
Soldier's body arrives at Dover Air Force Base. Nydia Han reports during Action News at 6 a.m. on September 8, 2019.

DOVER, Delaware (WPVI) -- Overnight, the body of an American soldier arrived back on American soil.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was at Dover Air Force Base as a coffin carrying Army Sergeant First Class Elis Angel Barreto Ortiz was taken off a plane.

Barreto Ortiz was one of 12 people who died in a Taliban explosion near a checkpoint outside the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

He was from Puerto Rico and described as a compassionate leader who encouraged soldiers who are struggling to ask for help.

He was highly decorated and on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan.