What began as a routine patrol ended in irreversible loss. In a remote stretch of desert near Palmyra, gunfire shattered the assumption of safety, and two American service members were killed. The attack, attributed to Islamic State, was swift and deliberate—another reminder that conflicts rarely conclude cleanly. They recede from public view, but not from the people who remain in their path.
Back home in Iowa, the impact arrived quietly and all at once. Phones were checked. Messages went unanswered. Ordinary rooms took on a new stillness. The distance between a dusty road abroad and a living room at home collapsed in a single moment. Continue reading…
