MEMPHIS, Tenn. —
It’s been almost a year since Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine.
The Pentagon estimates there have been more than 100,000 casualties on both sides since the war began in February of 2022.
One of those casualties was a man from North Mississippi, and his family remembered and honored their son Friday.
DeSoto County man Joshua Jones died in August 2022 after volunteering to fight with Ukrainians against Russian aggression.
"My son believed in the fight. He believed that their Russian aggression against a freedom-loving people was worth the sacrifice," Joshua's father Jeffrey Jones said.
24-year-old Jones stepped up and stepped into a foreign nation's fight for freedom, his family told ABC24.
Urkrainian Armed Forces Major Gusovskyy said this was Jones' calling as he remembered the warrior under his command.
"I can use just one word; warrior," Major Gusovskyy said. "He was a true warrior and he was exemplary and he was sure about what he was doing."
Initially joining the Norman Brigade, a group of foreign fighters fighting on the side of Ukraine, he was nicknamed “Tactical Jesus” for his long hair, beard, and devout Christian faith.
Jones' father says his son’s sacrifice is a testament to the fearless faith that made him a hero.
“Heroes are just those guys that are willing to go that extra mile and give that extra sacrifice," Jeffrey said. "That’s what he was."
A son of the Mid-South who fought for freedom far from home.
"You can be proud of such a son of [the] United States such as Joshua Jones," Major Gusovskyy said. "He was a great representative of Memphis and [the] people of Memphis and [the] people of the United States of America."
According to the U.S. State Department, at least 5 other Americans are known to have died fighting in Ukraine so far just like Joshua Jones.