(Radio Iowa) – A bill moving through the Iowa legislature will name a portion of U.S. Highway 30 in honor of one of the two Iowa National Guard soldiers killed in Syria late last year. “Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard Highway” will be a five-mile stretch of Highway 30 that runs through Howard’s hometown of Marshalltown. Representative David Blom of Marshalltown is sponsoring the bill to make that happen.

“It feels like people move on and stop remembering in the way that they did during the time of the funeral,” Blom said, “so in naming this section of the highway that goes through Marshalltown, we want a way to consciously remember that we can pass through our country and we have a free country here because of the sacrifice of the people that have gone before us.” Blom and Howard were students in Marshalltown high school at the same time.

“His parents and my parents went to Israel together and so just a lot of close family connections. We’ve been constantly trying to make sure we’re still getting meals to them to let them know they’re still remembered and haven’t been forgotten,” Blom said. “It’s been really hard on the family. We’ve been working hard to make sure that we still support Adriana and Nate’s brother as well, just making sure that we have the whole community wrapping around in constant support.”

Blom’s bill has won unanimous support in the Houe Veterans Affairs Committee and is expected to gain full approval in the House and Senate before the 2026 legislative session ends. Members of Iowa’s congressional delegation have introduced federal legislation to name the community-based outpatient clinic in Marshalltown the “Staff Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard VA Clinic.”

The Iowa National Guard Heroes Commemoration Act also would name the V-A clinic in Des Moines in honor of Staff Sergeant Edgar Torres-Tovar.