Military officials have released the names of the two Iowa National Guard soldiers who were killed Saturday in Syria.
Twenty-five-year-old Sergeant Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar of Des Moines and 29-year-old Sergeant William Nathanial Howard of Marshalltown were killed when an ISIS gunman stormed into a meeting of U.S. and Syrian security officials.
Iowa National Guard Major General Stephen Osborn said the men were “dedicated professionals and cherished members of our Guard family who represented the best of Iowa.” Governor Reynolds said the two soldiers “served our state and nation with honor and, in doing so, gave the ultimate sacrifice.” The governor has ordered all flags on in Iowa to immediately be flown at half staff until sunset on the day the men are buried in Iowa.
Two other Iowa Guard soldiers wounded in the attack were flown for treatment outside of Syria and are in stable condition. A third soldier was treated in Syria for a superficial wound and is in good condition. The two Iowa National Guard soldiers who were killed and the three who were wounded deployed to the Middle East this summer along with 1800 soldiers with a Guard unit based in Boone. Osborn on Saturday said about 250 Iowa National Guard soldiers are currently stationed in Syria.
An official with Syria’s government told the Associated Press the gunman who carried out the attack was among 5000 Syrians who joined the security forces two months ago, but had recently been reassigned over suspicions he might be affiliated with ISIS. President Trump has said there will be “very serious retaliation” for the ambush.
Congressman Randy Feenstra represents Iowa’s fourth congressional district, which includes Howard’s hometown of Marshalltown. “We’ll leave it up to Trump on how we respond to this,” Feenstra said today in Sioux City, “but it’s unacceptable…when we lose precious lives like this.”
Howard, Torres-Tovar and the two wounded soldiers who are hospitalized in stable condition are all part of the Iowa National Guard’s 2nd Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division that has its headquarters in Boone. “It just tells us or reminds us that freedom comes with a price and we can never forget that,” Feenstra said. “Our prayers go out to their families.”
Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn of Ankeny, a former member of the Iowa National Guard, said the attack “cannot go unanswered” and he’s spoken with President Trump about putting those who would threaten the U.S. military “on notice” that terror attacks will not be tolerated. Nunn described the area where Saturday’s attack occurred as sparsely populated but “hostile.” Nunn also served in the U.S. Air Force and flew combat missions over a mountain range that runs along the Iraq-Syria border.
(Additional reporting by Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City)