The news spread across Iowa with the force of a blow — sudden, staggering, and impossible to brace for. Two young soldiers, serving far from home on a mission most Americans rarely hear about, were killed in an ambush in Syria. The shock traveled from military bases to farm towns, from city neighborhoods to quiet rural roads, leaving families suspended between disbelief and heartbreak. Leaders scrambled to find the right words, though everyone understood that no statement, no flag protocol, no press conference could come close to filling the void left behind. Continue reading…
