The Ukraine War has claimed its first American casualty. A 22-year-old former marine was killed in action alongside Ukrainian forces according to his family.
Willy Joseph Cancel was sent to Ukraine by a military contracting company that he worked for. According to his mother, he wanted to be in Ukraine, because he believed in what its people were fighting for.
“He wanted to go over because he believed in what Ukraine was fighting for, and he wanted to be a part of it to contain it there so it didn’t come here, and that maybe our American soldiers wouldn’t have to be involved in it,” said his mother Rebecca.
On top of having been a marine and son, Willy Cancel was also a father of a 7-month-old and a volunteer firefighter in New York.
The American government confirmed that they are aware of reports, but are unable to confirm Willy Cancel’s death at this time.
Joe Biden spoke on the matter saying, “It’s very sad. He left a little baby behind,” while Jen Psaki warned Americans not to travel to the war-torn country.
“We know people want to help, but we do encourage Americans to find other ways to do so rather than traveling to Ukraine to fight there. It is a war zone,” The Press Secretary said.
