President Donald Trump is traveling to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday for a dignified transfer of the two Iowa National Guard members killed in an attack in the Syrian desert.
Transfer Ceremony at Dover Air Force Base
The ceremony honors U.S. service members killed in action and is one of the most solemn duties undertaken by the commander in chief. Transfer cases draped with the American flag hold the remains of the fallen soldiers and are carried from the military aircraft to an awaiting vehicle, then to the mortuary facility at the base where the soldiers are prepared for their final resting place.
Tributes to the Fallen Guardsmen
The Iowa National Guard remembers Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, both members of the 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment. Howard’s stepfather, Jeffrey Bunn, said Howard “loved what he was doing and would be the first in and last out,” noting that he had wanted to be a soldier since he was a young boy. Bunn, chief of the Tama, Iowa, department, also called Howard a loving husband and an “amazing man of faith” and said Howard’s brother, a staff sergeant in the Iowa National Guard, would escort “Nate” back to Iowa. Torres-Tovar was remembered as a “very positive” person who was family oriented and always put others first, according to fellow guardsmen who were deployed with him and issued a statement to the local TV broadcast station WOI. “They were dedicated professionals and cherished members of our Guard family who represented the best of Iowa,” said Maj. Gen. Stephen Osborn, adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard.
Trump’s Remarks on the Attack and Syria
On Saturday, Trump told reporters that he was mourning the deaths and vowed retaliation. He said Monday that he remained confident in the leadership of interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the former leader of an Islamic insurgent group who led the ouster of former President Bashar Assad. Trump welcomed al-Sharaa to Washington last month for a historic visit to the White House and formally welcomed Syria as a member of the U.S.-led coalition to fight the Islamic State group. “This had nothing to do with him,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. “This had to do with ISIS.”
Three other members of the Iowa National Guard were injured in the attack. As of Monday, two were in stable condition and the other in good condition. The Pentagon has not identified them.
Trump has traveled to Dover several times during his first term to honor the fallen, including for a U.S. Navy SEAL killed during a raid in Yemen, for two Army officers whose helicopter crashed in Afghanistan, and for two Army soldiers killed in Afghanistan when a person dressed in an Afghan army uniform opened fire.
Key Takeaways
- President Trump attended a dignified transfer ceremony for two Iowa Guardsmen killed in a Syrian desert attack.
- The fallen soldiers, Sgt. Torres-Tovar and Sgt. Howard, were honored by their family, unit, and the Iowa National Guard.
- Trump expressed confidence in interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and clarified that the attack was related to ISIS, not to al-Sharaa.
The ceremony underscores the ongoing tension between Washington and Damascus while honoring the sacrifices of American service members.
