This bill proposes to rename two Department of Veterans Affairs facilities in Iowa to honor two fallen Staff Sergeants from the Iowa National Guard. The VA clinic in Des Moines, Iowa, will be designated as the "Staff Sergeant Edgar Torres-Tovar VA Clinic" , and the community-based outpatient clinic in Marshalltown, Iowa, will be designated as the "Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard VA Clinic" . This action commemorates their service and sacrifice to the nation. Staff Sergeant Edgar Torres-Tovar, from Des Moines, enlisted in the United States Army in 2019, deploying to Kosovo and Syria as a Cavalry Scout with the Iowa National Guard. He was killed in action in Palmyra, Syria, in December 2025, posthumously receiving the Bronze Star Medal with Valor and the Purple Heart for his heroic service. Similarly, Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard, from Marshalltown, enlisted in the Iowa National Guard at age 17, also deploying to Kosovo and Syria, and was killed in action on the same day in Syria, also receiving the Bronze Star Medal with Valor and the Purple Heart.
This bill proposes to rename two Department of Veterans Affairs facilities in Iowa to honor two fallen Staff Sergeants from the Iowa National Guard. The VA clinic in Des Moines, Iowa, will be designated as the "Staff Sergeant Edgar Torres-Tovar VA Clinic" , and the community-based outpatient clinic in Marshalltown, Iowa, will be designated as the "Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard VA Clinic" . This action commemorates their service and sacrifice to the nation. Staff Sergeant Edgar Torres-Tovar, from Des Moines, enlisted in the United States Army in 2019, deploying to Kosovo and Syria as a Cavalry Scout with the Iowa National Guard. He was killed in action in Palmyra, Syria, in December 2025, posthumously receiving the Bronze Star Medal with Valor and the Purple Heart for his heroic service. Similarly, Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard, from Marshalltown, enlisted in the Iowa National Guard at age 17, also deploying to Kosovo and Syria, and was killed in action on the same day in Syria, also receiving the Bronze Star Medal with Valor and the Purple Heart.