Cooper ‘Harris’ Andrews, 26, US Marine Veteran Killed In On The Outskirts Of Ukrainian City
According to his family and coworkers, Cooper ‘Harris’ Andrews, a 26-year-old US Marine veteran, was slain last week while attempting to help residents from the carnage on the outskirts of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.
The death of Cleveland, Ohio resident Cooper “Harris” Andrews on April 19 as a result of a mortar explosion, as reported to CNN by his mother Willow Andrews, brings the total number of US residents killed in the conflict to at least nine since it started in February 2022.
Andrews was killed while assisting with the evacuation of civilians from the battle-ravaged city in eastern Ukraine, according to the Resistance Committee, an anti-authoritarian organization.
Due to the intense fighting in the area as of Monday, Andrews’ body has not yet been found. Bakhmut, known as a “meat grinder,” has seen some of the war’s worst encounters between the Ukrainian defenders of the city and the Russians from Moscow, who have spent months frantically trying to seize it.
Cooper ‘Harris’ Andrews was a 26-year-old man.
Cooper ‘Harris’ Andrews, a former Marine who was helping in Ukraine, killed a civilian in Bakhmut when they were being evacuated.
Andrews left his hometown in November to fight with Kyiv’s locals as a member of the International Legion, a collection of individuals from all around the world. His mother claims that even though his contract with the organization reportedly ended in March, he decided to stay in Ukraine as a volunteer.
According to an official service record provided to the military news website Task & Purpose, Andrews previously served in the Marine Corps from 2017 to 2022 as a ground electronics transmission systems maintainer.
Independent reporter Jake Hanrahan praised Andrews in a tweet as “a good man and a kind soul.” Additionally, he posted a picture that he had sent to a friend of the 26-year-old Marine veteran holding a sledgehammer and smoking a cigarette.
In a note that was included with the selfie, Andrews wrote, “If I am martyred, remember me with my hammer.”Without mentioning Andrews by name, the US Department of State stated on Monday that it could “confirm the death of a US citizen in Ukraine.”
A State Department representative said, “We are in touch with the family and are providing all possible consular assistance.”
Only a few weeks have passed since the combat-related deaths in Ukraine of two American military veterans, Grady Kurpasi, 50, and Edward Wilton, 22. On April 7, Wilton, a resident of Marianna, Florida, was slain by enemy soldiers while assisting in the defense of Bakhmut.
