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Remains of Iowa Guard Soldiers Killed in Syria Return to Des Moines for Honorable Transfer

The families have requested limited media coverage during the upcoming services.

The remains of Staff Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa, one of two Iowa National Guard members killed in an attack in the Syrian desert, is moved during a dignified transfer at the Des Moines International Airport in Des Moines, Iowa, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
The remains of Staff Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Staff Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, the two Iowa National Guard members killed in an attack in the Syrian desert, are moved during a dignified transfer at the Des Moines International Airport in Des Moines, Iowa, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
An Iowa National Guard member salutes as the remains of Staff Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Staff Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, the two Iowa National Guard members killed in an attack in the Syrian desert, are moved during a dignified transfer at the Des Moines International Airport in Des Moines, Iowa, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Overview

  • The caskets of Staff Sgts. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, and William Nathaniel Howard, 29, arrived Dec. 24 at Des Moines International Airport for a private honorable transfer led by the Iowa National Guard.
  • Gov. Kim Reynolds, Sen. Joni Ernst, Rep. Zach Nunn, and Guard leaders attended as fellow soldiers escorted the remains to funeral homes, with residents lining the route to pay respects.
  • Public services are scheduled for Saturday in Marshalltown for Howard and Sunday–Monday in Des Moines for Torres-Tovar, and the families have asked that media not cover the ceremonies.
  • The posthumously promoted soldiers were killed Dec. 13 near Palmyra by a lone gunman during a joint U.S.-Syrian field tour, which also killed U.S. interpreter Ayad Mansoor Sakat and wounded three Guard members.
  • President Donald Trump honored the fallen during a Dec. 17 dignified transfer at Dover and later vowed retaliation, with subsequent U.S. strikes described by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as a "declaration of vengeance."