IVH hosts ‘Remembrance Day’ ceremony honoring Iowa’s War on Terror casualties
From left, Major General (Ret.) Tim Orr, IVH Commandant Todd Jacobus and an unidentified IVH resident converse Wednesday afternoon in the Malloy Hall Leisure Resource Center during "Remembrance Day" ceremonies.
T-R PHOTOS BY MIKE DONAHEY Maj. Gen. (Ret.). Tim Orr is shown making remarks as part of "Remembrance Day" ceremonies on Wednesday afternoon in the Malloy Hall Leisure Resource Center on the campus of the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown.
Major General (Ret.) Tim Orr is shown receiving an American Eagle drawing and certificate from IVH resident George Trent (seated) Wednesday afternoon at IVH following "Remembrance Day" ceremonies at the facility. Trent is an artist and poet.
From left, Major General (Ret.) Tim Orr, IVH Commandant Todd Jacobus and an unidentified IVH resident converse Wednesday afternoon in the Malloy Hall Leisure Resource Center during "Remembrance Day" ceremonies.
T-R PHOTOS BY MIKE DONAHEY Maj. Gen. (Ret.). Tim Orr is shown making remarks as part of "Remembrance Day" ceremonies on Wednesday afternoon in the Malloy Hall Leisure Resource Center on the campus of the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown.
Major General (Ret.) Tim Orr is shown receiving an American Eagle drawing and certificate from IVH resident George Trent (seated) Wednesday afternoon at IVH following "Remembrance Day" ceremonies at the facility. Trent is an artist and poet.
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On Oct. 7, 2001, armed forces of the United States and Great Britain with logistical support from NATO countries invaded Afghanistan as a direct response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on American soil.
Afghanistan was the home of the terrorist group Al Qaeda - which, under its leader Osama bin Laden, had orchestrated the attacks.
Nearly 3,000 Americans - both innocent civilians and U.S. military – lost their lives on that fateful day when Al Qaeda members hijacked airliners and deliberately crashed them into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and the two World Trade Center towers in New York City. A fourth plane believed to be targeting the U.S. Capitol crashed into a field in Shanksville, Penn. That diversion was only the result of passengers fighting the terrorists piloting the plane and forcing it to crash, where all perished.
Fittingly, residents and staff of the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown honored fallen comrades engaged in the Global War on Terror (GWoT) on Wednesday afternoon in the Malloy Leisure Resource Center. Operations later included the invasion of Iraq.
The impact of the GWoT resonated in many Iowa communities as 73-Iowans perished and more were severely wounded during the 20-year conflict, said keynote speaker U.S. Army MG (Ret.) Mike Orr. An additional two servicemen have been killed in Syria since. One was SSgt. William Nathaniel "Nate" Howard, 29, of Marshalltown. A second was Maj. Scott Nisely, also of Marshalltown. Howard and a fellow Iowa National Guardsman were killed in an ambush in December of 2025. Two additional Iowa service members have been killed in Kuwait as a result of the current war against Iran.
Orr is a Boone native who enlisted as a 17-year-old high school student in Boone. He rose from the rank of private to major general and served in numerous stateside and overseas deployments in a career which spanned 43 years.
He retired and now resides in Johnston. His message Wednesday afternoon was three-fold.
One, that Iowans have answered the call - and have served their country with distinction since the Civil War through the GWoT.
"Regardless - if one was drafted, enlisted or mandated by a court - Iowans - and those especially here today at IVH - stood with their country in difficult times. They answered the call and took an oath to defend their country against enemies foreign and domestic," he said.
Orr's second message was that Iowa units - including those under current IVH Commandant Todd Jacobus - served admirably during the GWoT.
"I have known Commandant Jacobus for many years and he served with integrity," said Orr. "His unit - the 224th Engineering Battalion in Iraq -- had an extremely dangerous mission in detecting and removing improvised explosive devices and other debris from roadways. Those roadways were necessary to move troops and supplies. Their unit suffered five deaths.
Jacobus had the difficult task of completing casualty reports and informing his troops of their comrades' deaths."
Orr's third message was that casualties are more than numbers to military commanders.
"I - and others - were tasked with delivering the news of a service member’s death to their family," he said. "Those were parents and families who were devastated then and continue to be ... experiencing the void of an empty chair at the dinner table and of a life not lived to its fullest. Marilyn Gabbard was a fellow Iowa National Guardsman, and we were in the same home room at Boone High School. She was killed in Iraq. I was devastated when I learned her helicopter was shot down ... an additional 11 were killed. I grew up with Marilyn. I knew her family. I played football with her brothers."
"I thought his speech was good," said George Trent - a longtime IVH resident. "His comments about those who supported troops on the home front was important."
Trent also presented Orr with a poster which depicted an American eagle drawn by Trent.
"On behalf of the residents of IVH, I want to give you the bird (An American eagle, the example of America's strength and resolve)," he said, which was followed by light laughter from attendees and smiles from Orr and Jacobus.