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President Donald Trump participated Wednesday in the dignified transfer of three Americans killed in Syria, honoring two U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter during a ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
The president stood alongside Secretary of War Pete Hegseth as the remains of Iowa National Guardsmen Sgt. Edgar Torres-Tovar and Sgt. William Howard, along with civilian interpreter Ayad Mansoor Sakat, were transferred from a C-17 aircraft.
“That was a beautiful event for three great people, and they’re now looking down and their parents and wives and all of the people that were there were, I mean, devastated, but great people,” President Trump told reporters following the ceremony.
According to the White House press pool, President Trump met privately with family members of the fallen before the transfer. Howard was from Marshalltown, Iowa, Torres-Tovar was from Des Moines, and Sakat was from Michigan.
Sens. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley, both Republicans from Iowa, and Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, also attended the ceremony.
The three Americans were killed Saturday during a mission supporting counterterrorism and counter-ISIS operations in Syria. Assistant Secretary of War for Public Affairs Sean Parnell said three additional Americans were wounded in what multiple reports described as an ambush.
“In Syria there will be a lot of damage done to the people that did it,” President Trump said, adding that authorities “got the person” responsible but that “there’ll be big damage done.”
The president said the Syria attack killed “three great patriots” and emphasized that it was carried out by the Islamic State group, not the Syrian government.
“The Syrian government fought by our side. The new president fought by our side,” President Trump said, describing the incident as a reminder that U.S. forces remain at risk as Washington works with partners to prevent an Islamic State resurgence.
RSBN previously reported that Meskwaki Nation Police Chief Jeffrey Bunn confirmed in a Facebook post that his son, Nate Howard, was among those killed in the attack near Palmyra.
“Today two of our Iowa Army National Guard Soldiers were killed in action along with a Civilian Interpreter in Syria,” Bunn wrote. “My wife Misty and I had that visit from Army Commanders you never want to have. Our son Nate was one of the Soldiers that paid the ultimate sacrifice for all of us, to keep us all safer. He loved what he was doing and would be the first in and last out, no one left behind. Please pray for our Soldiers all around this cruel world. We will see you again son, until then we have if from here.”
