Trump attends dignified switch for Iowa Guard members killed in Syria | USAEMALL.com

President Donald Trump and participated in the dignified transfer for two members of the Iowa National Guard who were killed in Syria this weekend.

The Wednesday transfer at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware saw the return of Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, return to U.S. soil. The two men were killed in an ambush by an ISIS gunman. Their interpreter, U.S. civilian Ayad Mansoor Sakat, was also killed, and his case was also brought home on Wednesday.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth also attended the transfer. First lady Melania Trump was scheduled to attend the event, but she was ultimately unable to participate.

WAR SEC. HEGSETH ISSUES STATEMENT AFTER TWO U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED IN SYRIA ARE IDENTIFIED

President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One to attend the return of the remains of two Iowa National Guard members killed in an attack in Syria during a solemn event at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Dec. 17, 2025. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)

“The dignified transfer is not a ceremony; rather, it is a solemn movement of the transfer case by a carry team composed of military personnel from the fallen member’s respective service,” Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations reads. “A dignified transfer is conducted for every U.S. military member who dies in the theater of operation while in the service of their country.”

Wednesday’s event was the first dignified transfer Trump has attended since returning to office in January.

FOX NEWS POLITICS NEWSLETTER: HEGSETH RESPONDS AFTER TWO US SOLDIERS KILLED IN SYRIA ARE IDENTIFIED

Sgt. William Howard (left) and Sgt. Edgar Torres-Tovar (right) died Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025 in Palmyra, Syria. (Iowa National Guard)

Torres-Tovar and Howard were assigned to 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division of the Iowa National Guard.

 Meskwaki Nation Police Chief Jeffrey Bunn had identified his son Nate as one of the U.S. service members who was killed in the attack in a Sunday Facebook post.

TRUMP ADDRESSES TRIO OF ATTACKS IN SYRIA, BROWN UNIVERSITY, AND AUSTRALIA AT WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS EVENT

US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth salute as a US Army carry team moves the transfer case containing the remains of US Army Sgt. William Howard, during the dignified transfer of the remains of two Iowa National Guard members killed in an attack in Syria during a ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Dec. 17, 2025. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images)

“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 i[t] from here,” Bunn wrote.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Saturday that two Army soldiers and one civilian U.S. interpreter were killed, and three were wounded during the attack.

ARMY IDENTIFIES TWO IOWA NATIONAL GUARD SOLDIERS KILLED IN SYRIA

U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth salute as a U.S. Army carry team moves a flagged-draped transfer case containing the remains of Iowa National Guardsman Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard at Dover Air Force Base on Dec. 17, 2025 in Dover, Delaware. Iowa National Guard members Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard and Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, a U.S. civilian working as an interpreter, were killed during a recent ambush by an Islamic State (IS) gunman in Syria. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The service members had been conducting a key leader engagement with local partners in support of ongoing counter-ISIS operations when the attacker opened fire.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

A Pentagon official told Fox News Digital the attack occurred in an area outside the control of interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and that initial assessments indicate it was likely carried out by ISIS.

Fox News’ Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.