Patrick X.

🇺🇸🇺🇦 REMEMBER HIS NAME: GRADY KURPASI. Grady Kurpasi was not Ukrainian. He didn't have to go to Ukraine. He had already given 20 years of his life to military service. But when Russia invaded Ukraine, he chose to go anyway. Grady was born in Korea, adopted, and grew up in New York City. After the September 11 attacks, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at age 29. He became an infantry assaultman and later a Marine Scout Sniper, deploying to Iraq three times. During two decades in the Marines, he earned numerous decorations, including the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals and three Good Conduct Medals. He was selected for an enlisted-to-officer commissioning program, studied at UCLA, became an infantry officer and eventually reached the rank of Captain. He was also a Tillman Scholar. After approximately 20 years of service, Captain Grady Kurpasi retired from the Marines in 2021. He had already done more than enough. He had a wife, a daughter, a home, and had survived three deployments to Iraq. Then Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In early 2022, Grady went to Ukraine. His original intention was to help evacuate civilians and train Ukrainian soldiers. But Ukraine desperately needed experienced combat leaders, and Grady eventually joined the International Legion for the Defence of Ukraine. On April 26, 2022, while operating on the southern front, Grady went out with British volunteer Andrew Hill to investigate the source of enemy fire. They reported over the radio that they were under attack. Hill was captured by Russian forces. Grady disappeared. For his wife, daughter, friends and fellow Marines, there was no grave and no definitive answer. Days became weeks. Weeks became months. Months became a year. There remained hope that he might have been wounded or captured. In April 2023, the United States officially confirmed his death. Then another mission began: bring Grady home. Searchers entered the former frontline after Ukrainian forces liberated the territory. Human remains were eventually discovered near Oleksandrivka, between Mykolaiv and Kherson. Nearby were military items associated with Grady, including his helmet, body armor, boots and backpack. DNA testing provided the final answer. It was Grady. On May 19, 2023, more than a year after he disappeared, his remains arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York before being returned to his family. Grady Kurpasi was 50 years old. He left behind his wife and daughter. Think about his story: Korean-born American. Adopted child who grew up in New York. Marine after 9/11. Three combat deployments to Iraq. Scout Sniper. Purple Heart recipient. UCLA graduate. Marine officer. Captain. Husband. Father. After twenty years in uniform, he could have simply lived his life. Instead, when another free nation was attacked, he crossed an ocean to help people he had never met. He went to help civilians and train Ukrainians. When Ukraine needed experienced fighters and leaders, he stood beside them. Ultimately, he gave Ukraine everything a human being can give. His life. Grady Kurpasi wasn't Ukrainian by birth. But Ukraine will forever remember the American Marine who chose to stand with us when our country needed friends the most. 🇺🇸🤝🇺🇦 Honor, glory and eternal gratitude to Captain Grady Kurpasi. Semper Fidelis, Marine. Rest in peace, brother. Ukraine remembers you. America should remember you too. 🕯️ April 26, 2022 🇺🇸🇺🇦