Havertown veteran Patrick Creed, a retired Army Ranger, has voluntarily joined the fight in Ukraine, writes Pete Bannan for the Daily Times.
Creed, 54, a volunteer firefighter with Brookline Fire Co., was angered by the Russian invasion and motivated to help by “the awful sights of what the Russians are doing and the ferocious bravery by the Ukrainians.”
Creed is now a member of the Ukraine Foreign Territorial Brigade.
“It was a great leap of faith. There wasn’t any detailed information or clear plan,” Creed wrote from Kyiv.
Creed is no stranger to combat, having received the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq.
He now fights in Ukraine alongside Irish, Brits, and Canadians. His goal is to help with organizing, training, planning and combat operations.
“They are brilliant, amazing, and hilarious. Lots of experience, but there are six different languages in my group. And none of us speaks Ukrainian,” he said.
He was thrown right into the action, describing the fighting as brutal and the artillery fire as unnerving for the inexperienced.
He said his wife of 13 years, a special education teacher at Haverford High School, has been “amazingly supportive.”
Read more of Patrick Creed’s story in the Daily Times.
