Future Iowa Vets in the News

20 Years Later: Iowa National Guard Reflects on September 11, 2001

Des Moines, Iowa, 8 Sept. 2021 – Iowa National Guard Soldiers and Airmen reflect on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, sharing personal memories and lessons from that day. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jimmy Richardson "Can you imagine anything worse than what happened with those planes and towers? I was an E5 Technician Mechanic on Camp Dodge then. I was actually at the FMS doing some wretch training and sitting in the break-room when the first plane hit the tower. We were mesmerized. It was a 15 minute break but we must have stayed for 45 min and watched the 2nd plane hit. It was a weird moment not knowing what was going to happen. I deployed overseas three times after that. And I remember after my first deployment I was taking this cardio kickboxing class and there was this lady whose son just joined the Marine Corps and was in Iraq. This lady was a hot mess. Everyday she was hanging on the reports of the Marines. It was through her that I got to see from a mother’s perspective what it's like when a child deploys. I remember saying to her, ‘I see my mom in you right now. I’m going to call my mom.’ And I never gave my mom a hard time after that. Whatever she says I take it with a grain of salt, but I’ll give her what she needs." (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Everett)

20 Years Later: Iowa National Guard Reflects on September 11, 2001

Des Moines, Iowa, 8 Sept. 2021 – Iowa National Guard Soldiers and Airmen reflect on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, sharing personal memories and lessons from that day. Staff Sgt. Andrea Boose "I was a middle schooler in social studies class when it happened. When the notification came I think the school district was debating letting school out and sending kids home. I was shocked and freaked out. Everybody thought the world was ending. I remember the teachers looking concerned but trying to carry on so it wouldn’t affect us. They turned the TV on though and we watched whatever the news had rolling. We talked about it in class while it was happening. And that led us into talking about some of the other wars that happened. And looking back I’m happy they did that, because I feel like, in school now, they try to keep the outside world away from you. So, they sent us home early from school and we watched it on TV for days and that’s all anyone talked about. At that age I was probably annoyed my parents were watching the news all the time. 9/11 wasn’t really real to me then. But a handful of years later I signed up for the Guard and it became real to me because we were at war." (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Everett)

20 Years Later: Iowa National Guard Reflects on September 11, 2001

 Moines, Iowa, 11 Sept. 2021 – Iowa National Guard Soldiers and Airmen reflect on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, sharing personal memories and lessons from that day. Staff Sgt. Bayquon McDonald "You just saw and heard everyone shook up. You could see some people with anger. And you saw more people holding up the American flag. I was in the 7th grade in the Bronx, New York. It was weird because a lot of parents were coming to school getting their children. They were, like, ‘Oh I’m taking my son home.’ And I’m, like, ‘Why are these parents looking a little frightened, a little shook up?’ My parents never got me. They were probably like, ‘You’re going to get your education!’ And we’re just kids, we don’t know much. But we’re like, ‘Dang, a plane hit a building?’ So I got home, turned on the TV, and channels that don’t even show the news had the news on it. And you see the 1st plane hit the first tower, you see the 2nd plane hit the 2nd tower. I’m holding the remote, jaw dropped, in shock. I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, is this really happening?’ And then you start hearing the words that an act of terrorism happened. My mom calls the house, ‘You home?’ and I was like, ‘Yes mom I’m fine,’ and everything. You could hear it in her voice that she was a little scared. Mom worked in Manhattan, but a distance from where it happened. My dad, he calls, said he’d be home. But he ran one of the largest train companies and they needed him to stay. Word got around. The city was shook. But as bad as everything was, you saw more people start caring about somebody. I saw people like, ‘Hey, how’s your dad doing,’ and, ‘How’s this one doing?’ 9/11 brought a lot of the city together." (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Everett)

20 Years Later: Iowa National Guard Reflects on September 11, 2001

Des Moines, Iowa, 11 Sept. 2021 – Iowa National Guard Soldiers and Airmen reflect on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, sharing personal memories and lessons from that day. Senior Master Sgt. Vincent Degroot "We already knew we were heading to Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia to do southern no-fly zone rotations in Iraq. These missions had been going on since the 1990s. At the time, the unit was an F-16 fighter wing. I’m with a small support unit and was headed there as documentation support; me and another guy from California. The mission was set for us to go in October. Then 9/11 happened. So, we still had this mission to Iraq. We go to McGuire Air Force Base first. And then we’re flying out of there on a rotator jet north at a low elevation over Manhattan. I had never been to New York, so the first thing I saw was the metro area. Then the pilot calls out over the loud speaker that we're flying close to the World Trade Center Towers. And that’s when people describe it as, it’s like, ‘You were in a movie.’ There was a dead silence on the plane. Everyone took turns looking out the windows to see these two perfect squares where the Trade Towers used to be. And you could see the towers were still just billowing smoke even though it was weeks later. It was surreal. That’s where it really started to resonate. And my feeling at the time was, 'Lets get after it.'" (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Everett)

20 Years Later: Iowa National Guard Reflects on September 11, 2001

Des Moines, Iowa, 11 Sept. 2021 – Iowa National Guard Soldiers and Airmen reflect on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, sharing personal memories and lessons from that day. Sgt. 1st Class Lequitta Bickford "Almost every generation has a demarcation event that pushes the drive to serve. For myself and my girls, September 11th was our generation’s event. On 9/11 I had three young daughters at home, and I'm up getting them ready for school and out the door. I’m drinking my coffee. Watching the news. All of a sudden you see the plane hit the tower and you’re thinking, ‘What the hell is going on now?’ My husband, at the time, had been in the military for ten years, but was in the National Guard. So, I call him, ‘Hey, are you paying attention to the news? Apparently there was a plane that was hijacked by a terrorist and it was flown into one of the New York Trade Center Towers.’ My thinking was, ‘Is he going to get called up?’ I didn’t enlist until six years later. My girls were old enough then that they didn’t need me at the house. It was time to do something for me and take on a little bit of the family tradition. My third great grandfather John Andrew Lunyou served in the Civil War with the 47th United States Colored Infantry. And since then my family has been represented in almost every major U.S. conflict. And all three of my daughters have served. So, service, that sense of duty, loyalty, and honor, has been passed down. When 9/11 hit it increased that desire, that sense of patriotism and justice. I think a lot of us that serve have less of a tolerance for injustice. At least I know I do." (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Everett)

20 Years Later: Iowa National Guard Reflects on September 11, 2001

Des Moines, Iowa, 9 Sept. 2021 – Iowa National Guard Soldiers and Airmen reflect on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, sharing personal memories and lessons from that day. Sgt. 1st Class Michael Warmenhoven "I can honestly say, when the planes hit the towers, I hadn’t thought of the military side of it. Like, that we had been attacked and a military response was coming. I was assigned to the air support unit for the Cedar Rapids Police Department when it happened. I had only been home for 20 minutes, after an eight-hour shift, when my old partner called me, ‘Are you watching the TV, turn it on.’ So I turn it on just in time to watch the first plane hit and I got another call, ‘Hey, grab your gear and come back in.’ I didn’t know what was going on. No one was talking about terrorism at that point. But at the PD they knew that something wasn’t right, so they started calling people in just to do extra patrols. They had me fly in circles around the nuclear power plant in Palo, Iowa, for six hours. I mean, we were getting reports the whole time, but it was hard to wrap your mind around it. It wasn't until we landed, walked into the police station, and really got to see it that it became clear we were attacked. So, since then I've deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Neither of those were about combat for me. Maybe Iraq was at first, because we were in a combat zone and didn’t have much interaction with everyday people. But in Afghanistan we did. And I could care less about the combat. It was about the people. Let’s try to build these people up. I’m here for the kids, for the future of their country." (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Everett)

20 Years Later: Iowa National Guard Reflects on September 11, 2001

Des Moines, Iowa, 11 Sept. 2021 – Iowa National Guard Soldiers and Airmen reflect on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, sharing personal memories and lessons from that day. Sgt. 1st Class Tyler Davin "I met with a National Guard recruiter a day or so before September 11th, 2001. He came for some kind of self-defense class at City High in Iowa City. And I must have marked that I wanted more information, because I ended up sitting down with him in my guidance counselor's office. At one point I was all ready to sign the paperwork. He was like, ‘Bro, all we do, we go to 600 Acres, we shoot guns, and go mudding. You want to do that?’ I was like, ‘Hell yeah!' Then before the appointment was over I was like, ‘Wait, do you guys do that boot camp or like basic…whatever that is?’ And he’s like, ‘Well, yeah…’ and I was like, 'What about war, do you guys go to war and stuff?’ And I’ll never forget this. He looked at me and he said, ‘Bro, who in their right mind is going to mess with the United States?’ And I was like, ‘Dude, good point. Good point.’ So, I went home, told my parents I sat down with a recruiter, and I wanted them to sit down with him. Then the next day was 9/11. My Mom was like, ‘Yeah that’s not happening. You’re not meeting again with the recruiter.’" (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Everett)

Messages from the field: Father's Day in uniform

Staff Sgt. Jonathan Youngbear, assigned to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Iowa National Guard, poses for a Father’s Day portrait with a message for his family back home during Joint Readiness Training Center Rotation 25-08, June 14, 2025, at Fort Polk, Louisiana. From the field to their families, Soldiers of the brigade are training for an overseas mobilization while sharing heartfelt messages with loved ones. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by 1st Sgt. Jason Everett)

Iowa Army National Guard air crew walks into Jack Trice Stadium

Iowa Army National Guard flight crew members from Company C, 2-147th Assault Helicopter Battalion, and the 1-171st Aviation Regiment walk into Jack Trice Stadium during the Iowa v. Iowa State football game, Ames, Iowa, Sept. 7 2025. The crews conducted the pre-game flyover as part of the Iowa National Guard’s annual support to the Cy-Hawk rivalry. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Annalise Guckenberger)

Chief Petty Officer selectees receive uniform fittings in Okinawa

KADENA AIR BASE, Japan Chief Master-At-Arms Anthony Oslund, right, selects collar devices for Master-At-Arms 1st Class Clinton Barker, center, from Corning, Iowa, recently selected for Chief Petty Officer, both assigned to Commander, Fleet Activities Okinawa's (CFAO) Naval Security Forces, during a Chief Petty Officer uniform fitting on Kadena Air Base, Aug. 19, 2025. CFAO maintains and operates facilities to support United Nations Command-Rear missions, coalition and allied partners, U.S. Navy ships, submarines, and aircraft, and Joint Force assets in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Zack Guth)

Ronald Reagan Sailors Meal Prep

Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Jeffrey Salekolder, from Parkersberg, Iowa, assigned to USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), prepares food in the galley aboard a barge at Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton, Washington, September 8, 2025. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan is undergoing scheduled maintenance at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility while remaining a combat-ready force dedicated to protecting and defending the United States. (U.S. Navy photo by Aviation Electronics Technician 2nd Class Benjamin Hurner)

Joint service color guard presents colors at Cy-Hawk game

A joint service color guard presents the colors before the start of the Iowa vs. Iowa State football game at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa, Sept. 7, 2025. The presentation of the national colors is a long-standing tradition at the annual Cy-Hawk rivalry game, supported by the Iowa National Guard.(U.S. Army National Guard photo by 1st Sgt. Jason Everett)

USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) hosts Navy League visit

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii — Lt. Quincy Lamp, USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) operations officer, originally from Moville, Iowa, provides a tour of his ship for members of the Honolulu Council of the Navy League, Sept. 6, 2025. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer hosted the tour as part of the Navy Region Hawaii and Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific shipboard tour program, which provides local civic and school groups the opportunity to visit U.S. Navy ships and learn about the important role these ships conduct to maintain readiness and ensure national security in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Daniel Sanford)

Iowa National Guard Soldier performs National Anthem at Veterans Memorial Stadium

Sgt. Aaron Graber of the 34th Army Band performs the national anthem during the Five Seasons Stand Down at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Sept. 4, 2025. The Iowa National Guard has supported the event in consecutive years, providing medics and a national anthem singer. The Five Seasons Stand Down is an annual community event that connects veterans and service members with resources, services, and support to address health, employment, and social needs. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by 1st Sgt. Jason Everett)

Marine Corps League members secure colors at Five Seasons Stand Down

Members of the Marine Corps League Cedar Valley Detachment #99 put away the colors after presenting them at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for the Five Seasons Stand Down, Sept. 4, 2025. The Iowa National Guard has supported the event in consecutive years, providing medics and a national anthem singer. The Five Seasons Stand Down is an annual community event that connects veterans and service members with resources, services, and support to address health, employment, and social needs. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by 1st Sgt. Jason Everett)

Iowa National Guard medics support the Five Seasons Stand Down

SSG Hickenbottom and Spc Meghan Casey, medics with the 294th Medical Company Area Support (MCAS) of Washington, Iowa, pose for a photo at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, during the Five Seasons Stand Down, Sept. 4, 2025. The Iowa National Guard has supported the event in consecutive years, providing medics and a national anthem singer. The Five Seasons Stand Down is an annual community event that connects veterans and service members with resources, services, and support to address health, employment, and social needs. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by 1st Sgt. Jason Everett)

Veterans pose at Five Seasons Stand Down

Veterans pose for a photograph at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, during the Five Seasons Stand Down, Sept. 4, 2025. The Iowa National Guard has supported the event in consecutive years, providing medics and a national anthem singer. The Five Seasons Stand Down is an annual community event that connects veterans and service members with resources, services, and support to address health, employment, and social needs. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by 1st Sgt. Jason Everett)

Iowa National Guard flight crews in the stands at Cy-Hawk game

Iowa Army National Guard flight crew members from Company C, 2-147th Assault Helicopter Battalion, and the 1-171st Aviation Regiment sit in the stands after being recognized on the field during the Iowa vs. Iowa State football game at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa, Sept. 7, 2025. The crews conducted the pre-game flyover as part of the Iowa National Guard’s annual support to the Cy-Hawk rivalry. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by 1st Sgt. Jason Everett)

Iowa National Guard supports annual Cy-Hawk football game

Iowa Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 147th Assault Helicopter Regiment, and CH-47 Chinook helicopters from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 211th General Support Aviation Battalion, perform a flyover at Kinnick Stadium prior to kickoff of the Iowa vs. Iowa State football game, Sept. 7, 2025. The annual flyover highlights the Guard’s ongoing support to community and sporting events across the state.(U.S. Army National Guard photo by 1st Sgt. Jason Everett)

Flightline Friday

A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker of the 185th Air Refueling Wing flies away from the 185th ARW in Sioux City, Iowa, Sept. 5, 2025. The plane undergoes regular maintenance so that it is continuously ready to fly. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Tylon Chapman) (Photo was cropped and color was edited to enhance the subject)

Combat Life Saver - Priority in Combat Zone

Spc. Mya McClintock, a behavioral health specialist assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Iowa Army National Guard applies medical gauze in a combat life saver (CLS) course in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in September, 2025. The 396th Field Hospital, 2nd Medical Brigade has conducted three CLS classes in theatre, certifying over 70 students. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Rachel I. White)

Sailors aboard the USS John Finn conduct a general quarters drill in the Java Sea during Super Garuda Shield

(Aug. 31, 2025) Damage Controlman 3rd Class Lomis Albert Jr., from Mason City, Iowa, left, and Boatswain’s Mate Seaman David Belton, from Houston, simulate fighting a fire in Radar 1 aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John Finn (DDG 113) during a general quarters drill during Super Garuda Shield in the Java Sea, Aug. 31. John Finn is forward-deployed and assigned to Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navy’s largest DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Alexandria Esteban)

Fueling the Fight: Scott’s fuels Airmen power the mission

Whether refueling a presidential aircraft, supporting joint training, or conducting daily flightline operations, the 375th Logistics Readiness Squadron’s Fuels Flight powers the mission one gallon at a time. Named POL for Petroleum, Oils and Lubricants, fuels Airmen are often recognized by passersby on the flightline during hot pit refueling operations—a high-stakes process, often performed on fighter jets, that allows aircraft to refuel with engines running to cut down turnaround time. But their work extends far beyond the hot pits. The Fuels Flight issues fuel for aircraft, generators, and government vehicles across the installation at all hours, ensuring every corner of the mission stays powered.

Iowa’s 132d Civil Engineer Squadron participates in Exercise Toxic Swell 25

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jon Linn directs the movement of his squad during exercise Toxic Swell 25 at Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, Hawaii, Aug. 21, 2025. Airmen, Marines and partnered nations completed exercise Toxic Swell 25 as a joint chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear [CBRN] response hosted by the 174 Marine Wing Support Squadron. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. John Johnson)

Alpha Company Honor Graduate

U.S. Marine Corps photo illustration created to capture Alpha Company Honor Graduate, Pfc. Tate T. Giesemann from Bellevue, Iowa. The company honor graduate is the one Marine in his company who has demonstrated the highest degree of discipline, proficiency, bearing, physical fitness, and basic leadership traits that exemplify the highest standards of the United States Marine Corps. (U.S. Marine Corps photo illustration by Lance Cpl. Genaro I. Valdez-Sepulveda)

Navy Reserve Center Des Moines Change of Command Ceremony

Navy Reserve Center (NRC) Des Moines held a change of command ceremony Aug. 8. Lt. Cmdr. Kim B. Chalfant relieved Lt. Cmdr. Jessica M. Powell as commanding officer of NRC Des Moines.

Sen. Ernst meets Airmen, Visits Innovation Force

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst stands for a portrait with Airmen originally from Iowa during a visit to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, Aug. 21, 2025. Ernst, an Armed Services Committee member, gathered feedback from her fellow Iowans regarding their military experience while deployed in the AOR. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Sean Moriarty)

Abraham Lincoln participates in exercise Northern Edge 2025
 

250822-N-OR861-1008 NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN (Aug. 22, 2025) Aviation Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class Payton Decker, from Des Moines, Iowa, conducts maintenance an EA-18G Growler, attached to Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 133, in the hangar bay aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) during exercise Northern Edge 2025 (NE25). NE25 is an exercise led by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command that serves as a platform for joint, multi-domain operations to deliver high-end, realistic warfighter training, strengthen joint interoperability, and sharpen the air and sea-based combat readiness of U.S. and participating forces

US Army Parachute Team at The Quad City Airshow; DVIDS (series)

Members of the US Army Parachute Team, SSG Jon Pemberton, takes Colonel William Parker on a tandem prior to an enlistment ceremony at The Quad City Airshow in Davenport, Iowa, August 23, 2025. The Quad City airshow occurs annually at the Davenport Municipal Airport in Davenport Iowa, and is the largest airshow in Iowa. The show hosts North American Military Demonstration teams as well as international performers. This year, the show was held August 23, 2025 and August 24, 2025.

Flightline in the morning; DVIDS (series)

A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker of the 185th Air Refueling Wing is parked on the flightline at the 185th ARW in Sioux City, Iowa, Aug. 22, 2025. Tankers undergo regular maintenance to stay ready for missions. (U.S. Air National Guard Photo by Staff Sgt. Tylon Chapman)

Iowa Airman First in State to Receive Master Combat Infantry Badge; DVIDS

Senior Master Sgt. Greg Cleghorn, 132d Security Forces Squadron senior enlisted leader, Iowa Air National Guard, receives the Master Infantry Badge during the unit's annual training at Joint Base Hickam Pearl Harbor-Hickam, 18 Aug. 2025. Cleghorn is the first Iowa Air Guardsman to receive this badge. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. John Johnson)

Iowa National at the Iowa Cubs; DVIDS

Photo Gallery, multiple images and members

USS Theodore Roosevelt Flight Operations DVIDS

U.S. Navy Aviation Machinist’s Mate Airman Apprentice Aiden Sizemore, from Middletown, Iowa, assigned to the “Titans” of Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 30, guides an MV-22 Osprey, assigned to the “Sunhawks” of VRM 50, to land on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), Aug. 13, 2025.