Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, a sergeant in the Iowa National Guard, was identified by his stepfather in a Facebook post as one of the three Americans who died following an ambush in Syria on Dec. 13, 2025. (Facebook/Meskwaki Nation Police Department)
The police chief of a small Iowa community identified his stepson as one of the three Americans who died following an ambush in Syria on Saturday.
Sgt. William Nathan Howard, 29, was one of two members of the Iowa National Guard killed when a lone gunman attacked U.S. and Syrian forces who were conducting a joint field tour near the city of Palmyra, according to Jeffrey Bunn, police chief of the Meskwaki Nation, a tribal community about an hour outside of Des Moines.
On Monday, the Iowa National Guard confirmed that Howard had been killed and identified the other deceased soldier as Sgt. Edgar Brian Torrestovar, 25, of Grimes, Iowa. The gunman also killed a civilian interpreter and injured three other members of the state’s National Guard and three members of Syria’s security forces.
The deceased soldiers and the wounded were all members of the 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, the National Guard said, which is part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, and is currently deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Inherent Resolve — the U.S.’s anti-ISIS mission.
The Pentagon has not yet released the name of the deceased interpreter.
In a Facebook post Sunday, Bunn described Howard as “a dedicated soldier through and through” and said he had wanted to be a soldier since he was a young boy.
He was a man of faith, he added, and a dedicated husband to his wife, Arianna Howard.
“He loved what he was doing and would be the first in and last out,” Bunn wrote. “No one left behind.”
Bunn’s wife, Misty, and the soldier’s biological father, Brian Howard of Colorado, were devastated to learn of their son’s death, Bunn wrote.
The Facebook page for Troop B, 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment in the Iowa National Guard highlighted Howard in an April post, which said he had served for more than 11 years.
Howard worked at Fisher Controls as a laser engraving specialist and enjoyed shooting, woodworking and gaming. He was a native of Marshalltown and was inspired by his grandfather’s service, according to the post.
Maj. Gen. Stephen Osborn, adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard, described Howard and Torrestovar as dedicated professionals who represented the best of Iowa.
“Our focus now is providing unwavering support to their families through this unimaginable time and ensuring the legacy of these two heroes is never forgotten,” Osborn said in a statement.
Two of the other guardsmen wounded in the attack required medical evacuation for further treatment and are in stable condition, the Iowa National Guard said Monday. The third soldier has been treated locally and is in good condition.
President Donald Trump vowed “serious retaliation” for the attack, which was the first to inflict U.S. casualties in Syria since the fall of strongman President Bashar Assad a year ago. The U.S. recently reduced its military footprint in the country to about 1,000 troops.
The mission to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State militant group dates back more than a decade. In the wake of Assad’s overthrow, the new government in Damascus pledged to work with the U.S.-led coalition to counter ISIS.
The attacker, who was killed by partner forces, had joined Syria’s internal security forces as a base security guard two months earlier and had recently been reassigned amid suspected connections to ISIS, The Associated Press reported.
