Who was Cooper "Harris" Andrews? Former US marine killed in Ukraine while evacuating civilians

Cooper "Harris" Andrews, a Marine veteran, was killed while fighting near Ukraine’s Bakhmut last week. His mother, Willow Andrews, and his colleagues confirmed the same. Andrews also revealed that her son was killed after he was hit by a mortar. According to CNN, it is believed that Cooper was killed on Wednesday, April 19, 2023.

It is worth noting that the US Department of State also confirmed the death of a US citizen in Ukraine. However, they didn't reveal the person's identity. Authorities also got in touch with Cooper "Harris" Andrews’ family and said that they are not giving out additional information to protect the family’s privacy.

Cooper became the ninth US citizen to be killed since the war began in February 2022. His body has not been recovered as of Monday, due to extreme restlessness and fighting in the area. Cooper "Harris" Andrews reportedly left Cleveland in November and joined the International Legion of Ukraine.

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Marine veteran Cooper "Harris" Andrews was killed in Bakhmut after a mortar shell hit him

The 26-year-old Marine veteran was reportedly killed after a mortar shell hit him in Bakhmut, Ukraine.

According to his colleagues and family, Cooper "Harris" Andrews was trying to assist civilians in the area to escape the bloody fights. He reportedly worked for an “anti-authoritarian collective” called the Resistance Committee. As of Monday, authorities were unable to recover his body due to the restless situation in the area.

Bakhmut is also known as a “meat grinder.” It has witnessed some of the most gruesome battles between Moscow’s forces and Ukrainian defenders over quite some time. Although Cooper "Harris" Andrews’ contract with the organization expired in March, Willow revealed that her son wanted to volunteer in the area, and stayed back.

Between 2017 and 2022, Andrews served as a ground electronics transmission system maintainer in the Marine Corps. Jake Hanrahan, an independent journalist, had described the 26-year-old marine veteran as “a good man and a kind soul.” Cooper once posted a selfie that was captioned:

“If I am martyred, remember me with my hammer.”

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Andrews has won several military awards over his entire period of service

Following the announcement of the Marine veteran's death, a spokesperson for the US Department of State made a statement. The spokesperson said that they are in touch with Cooper's family and are doing their best to give them "consular assistance." They added that out of respect for the family's privacy, there weren't too many details the department could share.

Cooper "Harris" Andrews won several military awards, including the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

A former Marine sergeant named Zack Deck described Andrews as a “great marine and a good man.” Andrews was someone who always “kept people on their toes.” Deck added that Cooper was a goofy but passionate and dedicated person who loved helping everyone but especially people who he thought were oppressed.

Deck noted that Cooper is the one he misses the most as the latter made his life better and he can't wait to "hopefully see him again one day.”

No additional details regarding the tragic incident have been revealed by the authorities as of now.

However, as mentioned earlier, this isn't the first death of American military veterans being killed in Ukraine. Grady Kurpasi, 50, and Edward Wilton, 22, were killed in Ukraine’s battles just a few weeks before the news of Andrews’ death came by.