DES MOINES, Iowa — The Blue Star Mothers of America is asking people to help support the families and fellow solders of two Iowa National Guard members killed in Syria.
The bodies of Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, and Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, were returned to the U.S. during a dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday.
“The dignified transfer is the beginning of our nation being able to publicly mourn them,” said April Conway, vice president of the Iowa chapter of the Blue Star Mothers of America told KCCI. “It’s typically the first time that the families are publicly exposed as well.”
The mission, now, for those at home; to flood Iowa service members with cards and letters of support, encouragement and love.
“We need messages of positivity, so our troops know that we are here for them now, we will be here for them when they come home and that we will be here for them AFTER,” the group said in a social media post.
“We hurt for these families. On a level that is hard to explain unless you live it,” Conway said. “They’re about to have their very first holiday with an empty seat, and that’s never going to change for them.”
This mission is similar to the one the group does every year for Christmas, sending packages to Iowa service members who are deployed. The 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division shared pictures of the packages arriving on Dec. 10.
Iowa Blue Star Moms packages arrived in Syria. (Photo: 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, December 10, 2025″)
“I hope that Sergeant Howard and Sergeant Torres-Tovar got their care packages and knew how much they were loved and appreciated by people they would never have met here in Iowa,” Conway said. “We’re going to send box after box, as many weeks as we can until they come back.”
Cards can be dropped off at:
Iowa Gold Star Military Museum in JohnstoniHeartRadio lobby at 2141 Grand Ave in DSM
Or mailed to: Blue Star Mothers of Iowa, P.O. Box 751, Johnston, IA 50131
The{ }Iowa Gold Star Military Museum in Johnston is collecting letters and cards. (Photo:{ }Iowa Gold Star Military Museum)