Overcome with grief at 'dignified transfer,' woman runs to plane crying out loved one's name

It is always a solemn and emotional moment: top military and civilian officials joining families to witness the "dignified transfer" of loved ones killed serving in the U.S. military overseas.

On Monday night, it was too much for one woman, who was overcome with grief.

The unidentified woman had just come off a bus that had brought family members of the two deceased soldiers to the tarmac at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

She broke away from the group and sprinted towards the huge C-17 transport where the soldiers’ remains, in what are called "transfer cases, " were being prepared to be taken off the plane.

The woman’s wails pierced the night sky as a light mist started coming down.

Screaming out her loved one’s name, she threw herself on the plane’s open ramp and had to be restrained and helped away by other family members and an official nearby.

The Pentagon had announced Sunday that Sgt. 1st Class Javier Jaguar Gutierrez and Sgt. 1st Class Antonio Rey Rodriguez, both 28 years old, were killed as a result of wounds sustained while engaged in combat operations.

The tarmac scene unfolded moments before President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence arrived.

It wasn't clear what they saw or heard but they then walked up the plane's ramp and went inside to pay their respects to the fallen, as a chaplain read a brief prayer.

They had traveled to Dover separately late Monday night after a Keeping America Great campaign rally in New Hampshire. The visit was unannounced until just before they arrived.

National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien told reporters traveling on Air Force One with the president that Trump wrapped up his New Hampshire rally early so that he could attend and visit with families.

O’Brian told reporters that spending moments like these with grieving families is “probably the toughest thing he does as president.”

Trump and Pence stood at attention in the rain as the two flag-draped transfer cases were carried down the plane’s ramp.

Trump saluted as the honor guard carried the metal cases to a waiting transfer vehicle, while Pence placed his hand over his heart.

The woman’s wails could be heard as the honor guard gently closed the doors.