Glendale, KY, residents mourn death of solider killed in Iran conflict

• The small, tight-knit community of Glendale, Kentucky, is mourning the loss of the well-liked young man.
• Pennington was an Eagle Scout and high school athlete who joined the Army in 2017 after graduation.
• Pennington was a decorated soldier assigned to the 1st Space Brigade and will be posthumously promoted to staff sergeant.

GLENDALE, Ky. – The text message arrived on Mike Bell’s phone early on March 1. It was brief: Benjamin Pennington, the son of Bell’s close friend Tim Pennington, had been seriously injured in an attack at a U.S. air base in Saudi Arabia.

Bell hadn’t seen Benjamin Pennington in a while, but the executive minister and retired pastor of Glendale Christian Church clearly remembered the bright, ambitious boy who attended church every Sunday with his parents before enlisting in the U.S. Army.

Bell asked the Sunday school students gathered before him to pray for the 26-year-old Glendale native. Over the following week, he and Tim talked or texted daily, praying and hoping for the best.

There were signs of hope on March 5. Pennington asked the medical staff for a Pepsi, which his family saw as a positive sign. But by March 7, Pennington’s condition had worsened.

That night, after calling a basketball game at Central Hardin High School, Bell received a call from Tim. Benjamin had died from his injuries.

Bell said Benjamin was about to be moved from Saudi Arabia to Germany when his blood pressure dropped. 

Bell ached thinking about Pennington’s family not being able to be with Benjamin in his final moments.

“Their hurt is so real and so powerful. I can’t fathom the loss of their son,” Bell said. “That distance made a real difference.”

As the conflict between the U.S., Israel and Iran enters its second week, Glendale and the larger Hardin County community are now mourning one of their own. According to those who knew him best, Pennington was a well-liked, confident young man who made friends easily. 

An Eagle Scout and high school athlete, Pennington was enrolled in an automotive technology career pathway at his alma mater, Central Hardin High School. However, he changed his career plans and joined the Army in 2017 right after graduating. 

At the time of his death, Pennington was a sergeant assigned to the 1st Space Brigade at Fort Carson, Colorado. The U.S. Army said in a news release that Pennington will be posthumously promoted to staff sergeant.

Glendale is a typical small town — a Mayberry of today, as Bell likes to say. It’s quiet, with plenty of antique shops and family-owned restaurants lining its historic boulevard. Residents here take pride in how long they’ve lived here, and many have never dreamed of leaving the community they’ve built.

“I moved here 20 years ago, and I’m considered a young-in,” said Sherry Creek, owner of The Mercantile, a home goods store on East Main Street.

Some, like Eddie Best, trace their roots back to the 1800s. On March 10, Best was inside The Whistle Stop, a southern-style family restaurant that has only changed hands twice in its 50-year history. It was a Tuesday, which meant he was picking up his family’s regular order of two open-faced roast beef sandwiches, a side of greens and baked apples.

“Family, that’s why I stayed all these years,” said Best, 45.

The ties that bind this close-knit community make Pennington’s death even more impactful for the town of about 2,000 residents, located about an hour south of Louisville. In the few days since the news broke, Bell said his and others’ phones have been ringing nonstop.

“The people are wanting to know what to do, how to do,” Bell said. “Everybody is struggling in darkness, trying to figure out how to bring a little light to the Pennington family in their struggle and transition.”

The Penningtons, by all accounts, are active and involved community members. Tim Pennington has been a long-standing member of the town’s Lions Club and coaches cross country and track at Central Hardin High School.

Pennington was on the team while his father was the coach. Contrary to what some might expect, Pennington showed at least no outward annoyance at his dad being coach, said Jonathan Ratliff, who was also on the school’s team. If anything, he put twice as much effort into his sport, showing he wasn’t going to get favorable treatment, Ratliff said.

Ratliff, who was a few years ahead of Pennington at Central Hardin, said Pennington was friendly and funny, someone who quickly made friends with teammates and even athletes on different teams.  

“As soon as I joined the team, it felt like I had been with him forever,” Ratliff, a part-time actor in the Glendale community, said. “It didn’t matter if you knew Ben for a minute or two years. He just had a positive energy to be around. Very fun guy, great teammate to have.”

Pennington’s death marks a second blow to Glendale in recent months. In December, Ford and the South Korean company SK On dissolved their partnership to manufacture electric vehicle batteries at a plant just outside of the town. Although Ford plans to retool the factory and hire 2,100 workers for its second phase, the immediate impact resulted in termination notices to 1,500 people.

“Nobody was indifferent on it,” Bell said of the plant. “And then you have this, and everybody hurts. … It’s a family.”

Pennington is the seventh U.S. service member to die in the conflict that began Feb. 28. The other six soldiers died in an Iranian missile strike at a civilian port in Kuwait one day after the war began. Military officials are investigating the circumstances of the March 1 attack at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

Pennington received the Army Commendation Medal three times and the Army Good Conduct Medal twice during his military career, according to the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. He also received the Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Korea Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.

On March 9, Pennington’s body was returned to U.S. soil. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth attended the dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, a military tradition. 

It’s unclear when Pennington’s remains will return to Glendale, but the community is ready to welcome him home. 

Hardin County Judge Executive Keith Taul has ordered all flags at Hardin County government buildings to be lowered from March 9 to sunset March 11 in honor of Pennington.

The Glendale community “will get through this, together,” Taul said. “They will. They’ll reach out and put their arms around the Pennington family for sure.”

Monroe Trombly covers public safety. He can be reached at mtrombly@gannett.com.