Honoring Iowa's Eternal Patriots
We are missing some...
Nearly every time I’m at the Iowa Capitol, I stop and contemplate the exhibit of the Iowans who have lost their lives in service to our country since September 11, 2001.
They all were so young, taken too soon, with many hopes and aspirations never realized, their families crushed with loss.
To the left and right of the permanent exhibit above are images of Staff Sgt. Nate Howard (l) and Staff Sgt. Edgar Torres-Tovar (r).
Below are photos of them from a closer viewpoint (sorry about the bad lighting):
From the Des Moines Register on December 15, 2025:
The Iowa National Guard has released the names of the two soldiers killed in an apparent ISIS attack in Syria: Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, and Sgt. Edgar Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines.
Both were members of the 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment who were attacked by a “lone ISIS gunman” on Saturday, Dec. 13, in Palmyra, Syria.
I was at the Capitol on Tuesday and stopped by the exhibit. It dawned on me that two photos were missing, because we had yet to honor two Iowans who had died in Trump’s war in Iran.
From the Iowa Capital Dispatch on March 5, 2026:
Gov. Kim Reynolds said Thursday she supports the U.S. military action in Iran, as she mourned the loss of two Iowa soldiers in an Iranian strike on a Kuwait facility on March 1.
Two of the six U.S. military members killed in the Iran attack on a tactical operations center in Kuwait’s Port of Shuaiba were from Iowa. The U.S. Defense Department has identified Major Jeffrey O’Brien, a 45-year-old from Waukee, and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, a 20-year-old from West Des Moines, as Army Reserve members who died in the attack. The two soldiers from Iowa, alongside the other four who died in the strike, were all assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, based in Des Moines.
Two Iowans who died in Iran have yet to be honored at the Capitol, more than six weeks after their deaths.
I spoke to a legislator about it, and to a staff member who is my friend who works at the Capitol.
The legislator said he would check into it. I believe him.
The staff member told me he was unsure of the process for adding photos, but that he would ask around. I believe him.
I don’t know the process either, but it seems to me that these Iowans should have been honored by now. How much does it cost to place a couple of large photos on photo stands at the exhibit? It’s been more than six weeks, and it seems to me that something should have been done by now. But maybe I’m wrong, and the process is proceeding as fast as it can. Let’s hope so.
And how about a public ceremony at the exhibit?
I hadn’t noticed, but my friend who works there told me that they would need to redesign the permanent exhibit, because, as you can see in the photo above, there is only room for one more photo in the lower right.
Four more photos need to be added. For now…
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Bob, Thanks for a reminder of the deaths of four men who deserve recognition and respect. My line to those who complain about gas prices, "I can not complain about the price of gas when 13 soldiers have been killed and hundreds wounded during the war of choice." My bluntness gets mixed reactions. Now we hear about the Kuwait USA military sites being unprotected and unsubstantial. Condolences to the grieving families.
My cynical side says they are too busy taking away the rights of so many Iowans that they forgot or overlooked this or didn’t think it was that important.