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U.S. citizen and marine veteran Willie Joseph Cancel died in a fight with Ukrainian forces in Ukraine, the man’s widow told Fox News Digital early Friday morning.
“My husband did die in Ukraine,” Brittany Cancel, the widow of the 22-year-old Marine veteran, told Fox News Digital. “He went there eager to help people, he always felt that this was his main mission in life.
Cancelle leaves behind his wife and 7-month-old son. He appears to be the first US citizen to die fighting alongside Ukrainians in Ukraine.
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Brittany and Willie Cancel. (Photo by Brittany Cancel)
“My husband was very brave and a hero,” Cancel said. “I did not expect to remain a widow at the age of 23 or our son to be left without a father. All I want is for him to go home and bury him properly, which he deserves. ”
The Marine veteran has signed up to work for a private military contract company in addition to his full-time job as a correctional officer shortly before the war in Ukraine broke out in late February, Willie Cancel’s mother, Rebecca Cabrera, told SETimes. CNN. After the start of the war, the company asked contractors to fight in Ukraine and Cancel agreed to go, the mother said. Cabrera did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News.
Willy Cancel on tour in Japan. (Brittany’s refusal)
Cancel flew to Poland on March 12 and moved to Ukraine between March 12 and March 13.
“Before he wanted to help Ukraine, he was a detainee in Kentucky,” the widow told Fox News. “He had dreams and aspirations to become a police officer or join the FDNY. Naturally, when he found out about what was happening in Ukraine, he had the patience to become a volunteer.”
Willie and Brittany cancel their wedding. (Brittany’s refusal)
Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, 55, was killed in Ukraine last month along with Ukrainian journalist Alexandra “Sasha” Kuvshinov24. Benjamin Hall suffered serious leg injuries in the same attack.
Brent Reno, 51, a documentary filmmaker who worked with The New York Times, also died in Ukraine last month.
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