Loved ones of Myhailo Yavorskyi said farewell to the Army veteran from Chicago at his funeral on Thursday.
Yavorskyi, an Army veteran who never forgot about his ties to his homeland, was killed in action in Ukraine on May 25.
Last year, when Russia invaded Ukraine, he made the risky decision to leave his family and home in Chicago to fight with the Ukrainian Army. His family told NBC Chicago that he had dual citizenship.
“He took the first flight out,” his sister Zoryana Podolny said. “When everybody else was fleeing from Kyiv, he was heading there. He was defending Ukraine from the very beginning of the war.”
Yavorskyi died during an attack in the Eastern part of the country, after he saved several of his comrades. His funeral was held Thursday at St. Joseph The Betrothed Ukrainian Catholic Church.
His mother said he should be remembered for his service and sacrifice to both countries.
“His daughter in the future will know what her father gave his life for and why she cannot hug daddy anymore,” his mother Maria Yavaroska told NBC Chicago.
Local
Myhailo Yavorskyi is being nominated for the Hero of Ukraine Award for heroism.
Yavorskyi worked as an electrical engineer, and leaves behind a wife and young daughter.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
Friends have created this fundraiser for a scholarship fund for his daughter.
