Three young Americans who never joined the U.S. military but died fighting the Islamic State group in Syria will return home to military-type honors.
The caskets of Levi Shirley, Jordan MacTaggart and William Savage were due to arrive home Friday after a complicated journey without ceremony.
Shirley and MacTaggart are from Colorado. Savage, of Maryland, will be transported to North Carolina, where his father lives.
Each family will each be presented with a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol.
The men died separately after joining the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the main Kurdish guerrilla group battling the Islamic State in Syria. Shirley, 24, reportedly was killed by a land mine July 14. MacTaggart, 22, was believed to have died in combat August 3. As VOA reported last month, Savage, 27, met his end in mid-August in a separate clash with IS fighters, according to Kurdish forces.
Turkey’s tense relationship with the Kurds and the United States since July’s failed coup attempt hindered efforts to bring the three men’s bodies home.
