President Donald Trump is headed to Dover Air Force Base Wednesday to honor two fallen Iowa National Guard soldiers killed during an attack in Syria — a somber duty he once described as “the toughest thing I have to do” as commander-in-chief.
The dignified transfer ceremony will receive the remains of Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, from Marshalltown, and Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines. Both soldiers were killed on December 13 in Palmyra, Syria, in what officials have attributed to an ISIS attack.
“This had nothing to do with him,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, apparently referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. “This had to do with ISIS,” the president emphasized.
A Solemn Tradition
What happens during a dignified transfer? It’s a carefully choreographed ceremony that marks the return of fallen service members to American soil. The ritual involves transfer cases draped with the American flag being carried from aircraft to waiting vehicles that transport the remains to Dover’s mortuary facility.
The president’s presence at such ceremonies has become an important tradition, though one that brings with it the weight of confronting the human cost of military deployments. During his first administration, Trump acknowledged the emotional toll of attending these ceremonies.
Family members of the fallen guardsmen are expected to be present, though the Defense Department typically leaves it to the families to decide whether media may document the transfer.
The attack in Syria continues to raise questions about the ongoing U.S. military presence in the region. Trump, who campaigned in part on reducing American involvement in overseas conflicts, now faces the difficult reality of service members lost during his second term.
Howard and Torres-Tovar were part of the Iowa National Guard’s deployment supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the multi-national campaign against ISIS that has continued despite the terrorist group’s loss of territorial control in recent years.
For the families of the fallen, the ceremony represents the beginning of their formal goodbye. For the president, it marks one of those rare moments when the abstract policies of war and peace materialize into flag-draped transfer cases carried with precise dignity by fellow service members.
As the nation watches, Dover Air Force Base will once again serve as the solemn gateway for Americans who gave what Lincoln called “the last full measure of devotion” — a reminder that behind every policy decision stand the lives of those who serve.
