BAKHMUT, Donetsk Oblast — A Maine native who was fighting in Ukraine died in an explosion on July 31, according to his family.
Jeffrey Jones, 48, was killed in a mortar shell explosion while serving as a foreign fighter in the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Bakhmut, his father Howard Jones Jr. said in a news release.
Jeffrey reportedly grew up in Bowdoinham and vacationed in Harpswell, and was a resident of Perry, Georgia.
He traveled to Ukraine twice, supporting humanitarian efforts and serving on a volunteer medic team near the front in 2022, Howard said. After an injury, Jeffrey reportedly returned to the U.S. only to return to Ukraine in April 2023 and serve with the American Ukrainian Foundation, then the Armed Forces of Ukraine in June.
Jeffrey applied skills learned by serving in the U.S. Army and as a Spartan racer to his service in the Airborne Division in Ukraine and on the medic team, his father said.
Howard said his son's ashes are set to return to Bangor this month.
