Widow of soldier dad killed in Iraq delivers heartbreaking tribute after fatal drone mission

Army Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton's widow knew her life had changed forever the moment she saw two uniformed service members standing outside her front door.

"My stomach dropped," Mia Gonzalez-Swinton recalled Monday on "Fox & Friends First."

"I remember feeling sick almost... I felt like I was watching myself."

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Swinton, 30, was killed while conducting a controlled demolition of a downed Iranian drone in Iraq, leaving behind his wife and their two young children, ages 6 and 4.

Recounting the moments after learning of his death, Gonzalez-Swinton said the loss still feels surreal as she and their children begin adjusting to life without him.

Asked how the children were coping, Gonzalez-Swinton said her daughter has started to understand that her father is gone, calling him her "angel," though she isn't sure how much either child fully comprehends.

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Swinton's widow remembered him as a devoted father and husband who "loved his job," "loved this country," and cared deeply about everyone he met.

"Michael is an amazing man," she said. "He cared about anyone he crossed paths with. He loved his job. He loved this country."

Swinton, who will receive the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge, and be posthumously promoted to staff sergeant, had already received the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Army Service Ribbon and Combat Action Badge.

Gonzalez-Swinton said she hopes people remember not only her husband's military service, but also the man he was away from the battlefield.

"I just want everyone to remember him, not only his Army awards and records, but the man he was," she said. "He loved his family, he cared for his friends, and I just don't want anybody to forget him."

Fox News' Eric Mac contributed to this report.