IA HR101

Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard and Staff Sergeant Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar of the Iowa Army National Guard's 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment were killed in action on December 13, 2025, in Palmyra, Syria, during an enemy attack.

Three additional Iowa National Guard soldiers were wounded in the same attack; approximately 1,800 Iowa soldiers were deployed to the Middle East in May 2025 as part of the anti-ISIS coalition.

Howard served 11 years in the Iowa Army National Guard after graduating from Marshalltown High School in 2014; Torres-Tovar served 6 years after graduating from Dowling Catholic High School in 2019, with prior deployments to Kosovo and Kuwait.

Both soldiers were posthumously promoted to Staff Sergeant in recognition of their sacrifice and service.

The Iowa House of Representatives directs that copies of this resolution be sent to both soldiers' families.