By Dar Danielson (Radio Iowa)

Memorial Day was designated to honor the members of the military who have died, and Iowa National Guard Major General Stephen Osborn says many hearts will be heavy this Memorial Day from recent losses.

“It will be close to the heart for many in central Iowa because of the four Iowans, the two members of the Iowa National Guard who were killed, Nate Howard and Edgar Torres Tovar, and then the 103rd. At the beginning of Epic Fury, we lost soldiers there, many with ties to Iowa, some from Iowa. So yeah, it will certainly have a special, special meaning for a lot of people this year, hopefully for everyone in Iowa,” Osborn says.

There were ceremonies yesterday to honor the fallen and flags will line the roadways into cemeteries and mark the graves of those who served. Osborn hopes the flags stir memories.  “On Memorial Day and I hope on the 4th of July we remember the voluntary service of our young men and women, the sacrifice they provide, and particularly this weekend, the ultimate sacrifice that not just our Iowans here recently have provided, but all the Americans that have died trying to maintain freedom and democracy across the world, I hope that’s what they think about when they look at those flags,” Osbron says.

Osborn says the potential that you won’t come home from a mission is something Iowa Guard members always face. “To our soldiers and our airmen that join, that enlist, that train, I think that reality is there on their mind, and they acknowledge that and they accept that, and that’s what they’re joining to do, obviously, to ask what their nation and their state need from them and to deploy and to do the hard things,” he says. “From the family’s standpoint and I think from a lot of people’s standpoint, they don’t quite see the National Guard as a true component of our military until a tragedy like this happens. Army Reserve, same thing”

Osborn says the loss has been traumatic to everybody, particularly the families. “Not just the families of those that were killed or injured, but the families of those service members that served with them. And again, it’s the reality of what we do and the risk we take,” Osborn says.

The general says it is tough on him and the members of his command staff when they lose soldiers. “It is, I mean we see these young men and women join our organization, grow in our organization, become leaders in our organization. And we want to make sure that we’re providing the resources they need to learn their skill, to learn their trade, to protect them as much as we can,” Osborn says.

Osborn says Iowans have a long history of military service to our country dating all the way back to the Civl War.