{"id":31064,"date":"2022-05-01T19:35:36","date_gmt":"2022-05-01T19:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/05\/01\/combat-death-puts-spotlight-on-americans-fighting-in-ukraine\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:40:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:40:57","slug":"combat-death-puts-spotlight-on-americans-fighting-in-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/flashpoints\/2022\/05\/01\/combat-death-puts-spotlight-on-americans-fighting-in-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"Combat death puts spotlight on Americans fighting in Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Harrison Jozefowicz quit his job as a Chicago police officer and headed overseas soon after Russia invaded Ukraine. An Army veteran, he said he couldn\u2019t help but join <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/ukraine\/2022\/03\/14\/us-veterans-head-to-ukraine-to-fight-but-zelenskyys-legion-faces-hurdles\/\" target=\"_blank\">American volunteers seeking to help Ukrainians<\/a> in their fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jozefowicz now heads a group called Task Force Yankee, which he said has placed more than 190 volunteers in combat slots and other roles while delivering nearly 15,000 first aid kits, helping relocate more than 80 families and helping deliver dozens of pallets of food and medical supplies to the southern and eastern fronts of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/ukraine\/\">war<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s difficult, dangerous work. But Jozefowicz said he felt helpless watching from the United States last year during the U.S. pullout from Afghanistan, particularly after a close friend, Staff&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2021\/09\/27\/the-absolute-best-of-us-teammates-eulogize-psyop-soldier-lost-in-kabul-attack\/\">Sgt. Ryan Knauss<\/a>, died in a suicide bombing at Kabul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo, I\u2019m just trying to do everything I can to make sure I can help others not go through what I went through,\u201d he said Saturday during an interview conducted through a messaging platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/newsletters\/daily-news-roundup\/2022\/04\/29\/marine-veteran-killed-fighting-in-ukraine-relatives-say\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22117449073860.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Marine veteran killed fighting in Ukraine, relatives say<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">He would be the first known U.S. citizen to have been killed while fighting in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A former U.S. Marine who died last week was believed to be the first American citizen killed while fighting in Ukraine. Willy Joseph Cancel, 22, died Monday while working for a military contracting company that sent him to Ukraine, his mother, Rebecca Cabrera, told CNN.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An undetermined number of other Americans \u2014 many with military backgrounds \u2014 are thought to be in the country battling Russian forces beside both Ukrainians and volunteers from other countries even though U.S. forces aren\u2019t directly involved in fighting aside from sending military materiel, humanitarian aid and money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russia\u2019s invasion has given Ukraine\u2019s embassy in Washington the task of fielding inquiries from thousands of Americans who want to help in the fight, and Ukraine is using the internet to recruit volunteers for a foreign force, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/ukraine\/2022\/03\/03\/volunteer-fighters-arrive-in-ukraine-but-the-untrained-should-stay-home\/\" target=\"_blank\">International Legion of Defense of Ukraine<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/russia-ukraine-europe-d0243a1708a3115e5ad0ac40aed99b9f\">.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnyone who wants to join the defense of security in Europe and the world can come and stand side by side with the Ukrainians against the invaders of the 21st century,\u201d President President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a recruitment pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1648\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22121591012481.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-59474\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22121591012481.jpg.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22121591012481.jpg.jpg?resize=300,247 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22121591012481.jpg.jpg?resize=768,633 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22121591012481.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,844 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22121591012481.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1266 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Anja Osmon, an American who left home for Ukraine to help in the fight against Russia, is shown in an undated self portrait provided in May 2022. (Anja Osmon\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Texan Anja Osmon, who did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan while serving in the U.S. Army from 2009 through 2015, said she went to Ukraine on her own. A medic, she said she arrived in Ukraine on March 20 and lived in the woods with other members of the International Legion before a new commander sent her away because he didn\u2019t want female fighters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Osmon, 30, said her mother wants her home before September. But for now she\u2019s anxious to get out of the hotel where she is staying in Lviv and catch on with another fighting force nearer the action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI can\u2019t turn away from injustice,\u201d she said. \u201cNo one should be scared.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. Marine veteran Eddy Etue said he quit his job in the gig economy, found a friend in Colorado to watch his cat and gave up his home four blocks from the beach in San Diego, California, to help out in Ukraine, where he\u2019s been about two weeks. He first worked with an aid organization but now is training with the International Legion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Etue, 36, said he simply couldn\u2019t stay home. \u201cIt\u2019s just the right thing to do,\u201d said Etue, who financed the journey through an online fundraising campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Etue\u2019s family history pulled him toward Ukraine. He said his grandparents left Hungary with nothing but their four children and clothes after the 1956 revolution, which was put down by Soviet forces that killed or wounded thousands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22121591031599.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-59475\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22121591031599.jpg.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22121591031599.jpg.jpg?resize=225,300 225w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22121591031599.jpg.jpg?resize=768,1024 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22121591031599.jpg.jpg?resize=1152,1536 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Eddy Etue, an American who left home for Ukraine to help in the fight against Russia, is shown in a self portrait taken on Sunday, May 1, 2022. (Eddy Etue\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat\u2019s happening here will affect not only the people who are experiencing it but their children and grandchildren as well,\u201d he said. \u201cI know that from personal experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jozefowicz, the former Chicago cop, says there are thousands of American and other volunteers in Ukraine. Multiple organizations are operating in the country, and Jozefowicz said his group alone has placed scores of volunteers in positions all over the country, with about 40 of those being combat jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe do not facilitate a civilian going into any direct-action role. We only guide and connect prior military volunteers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But there\u2019s plenty of other work to do. Groups of volunteers are getting medical and food supplies to people in the nation of 44 million people, he said, and others are working with refugees and others who\u2019ve had to flee their homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe closer I got into Ukraine and the more time I spent in Ukraine, the more voids I found that needed to be filled to maximize my groups volunteer efforts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Osmon, who said she\u2019s been in contact with Jozefowicz\u2019s group, said she supplied troops with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications after days in the woods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMost everyone had air raid fever from hiding in the trenches in the snow and cold air,\u201d she said. \u201cBronchitis was ravaging us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Etue said he got a feel for the country after making a 24-hour round trip with another volunteer to pick up a vehicle in Odessa. He said he\u2019s been impressed with the quality of people serving in the International Legion since Ukrainians have done a good job of weeding out the inexperienced and \u201cwar tourists\u201d who don\u2019t have much to offer a military unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think they\u2019re doing amazingly well given that they\u2019re at war with one of the largest standing armies in the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An undetermined number of Americans, many with military backgrounds, are thought to be in Ukraine battling Russian 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