Latter-day Saint father, Idaho man dies fighting with international legion in Ukraine

Dane Partridge, a 34-year-old Latter-day Saint, U.S. Military veteran and father from Rexburg, Idaho, died this week from accidents sustained combating on the entrance strains in Ukraine, his household confirmed.

Partridge had been combating with the Worldwide Legion of Territorial Protection of Ukraine since April, one in every of many Americans volunteering as Russia continues its invasion.

At the very least 5 People have died within the conflict, in line with studies. In March, The Washington Publish reported a minimum of 4,000 People have been considering volunteering to combat in Ukraine.

Partridge was struck within the neck and brainstem by shrapnel on Oct. 3 after Russian forces ambushed his unit whereas they have been clearing trenches in Severodonetsk in jap Ukraine.

Nonetheless below hearth, Partridge’s colleagues carried him out on a blanket and laid him down behind a pickup with the opposite wounded troopers, in line with his household. The motive force ran the truck into the bottom on their option to the hospital, actually — just one wheel was intact once they arrived, the opposite tires shredded and hanging from the rim.

On Oct. 11, Partridge succumbed to his accidents in Ukraine, forsaking 5 kids.

“We knew that his coronary heart was completely satisfied serving to over there. And that made us completely satisfied,” his sister, Jenny Corry, advised the Deseret Information on Friday. “Above all else, he mentioned it was him serving his God.”

Born right into a army household, Partridge grew up in Rexburg, off-roading in the summertime and snowmobiling within the winter, Corry mentioned. He enlisted within the U.S. Military after he graduated from highschool, and in 2007 was deployed to Baghdad as a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the place he was a turret gunner and drove armored autos.

He left the Military in 2012, and for the subsequent 10 years discovered work as a long-haul trucker and tow truck driver.

On Feb. 24, Russia invaded Ukraine, and Partridge was glued to the tv.

Partridge and his household haven’t any ties to Russia or Ukraine. However just like the roughly 20,000 different overseas fighters in Ukraine hailing from 52 totally different international locations, in line with the Harvard Worldwide Evaluate, the Rexburg father was decided to assist.

A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Corry says her brother was motivated by his religion.

“He needed to serve the Lord. He needed to serve his God. That was the primary particular person he needed to observe. … The extra he prayed about it, the extra positive he was,” Corry mentioned.

Partridge wrote a will, purchased a one-way ticket to Poland, and mentioned goodbye to his household on April 27. The household would hear from him periodically over the approaching months, Partridge sending the occasional textual content, or FaceTiming when he had a very good connection.

He took explicit curiosity in rescuing cats and canine — his unit even adopted a kitten, nicknaming it “the conflict kitty.”

When he had time, he would attend Sunday companies on the nearest church, and made an effort to succeed in out to and befriend Latter-day Saints in Ukraine.

In July, he stepped on a tripwire, triggering a grenade that left him with 9 shrapnel wounds, in line with his household. Three weeks later, he was discharged from the hospital, and again on the entrance strains.

“We have been nervous, … however we additionally knew that he thrived there,” his sister mentioned.

In September, his household acquired one other name — Partridge was happening a mission with a excessive mortality price.

“He known as to say his final goodbyes,” Corry mentioned, “then he went darkish and for a few days, and we have been on edge ready.”

Partridge returned from the mission unscathed, Corry mentioned. Precisely one month later, in Severodonetsk, his unit was ambushed by Russian tanks. Corry and her household realized of his passing from a Latter-day Saint he befriended in Ukraine.

His physique remains to be in Kyiv, and the household hasn’t made any funeral preparations but. Their hope, Corry says, is to seek out some Ukrainians prepared to sing throughout his memorial service.

“He was all the time good for fun, exchanging witty banter and desirous to cheer folks up,” Corry mentioned. “He ended his messages whereas he was over there with ‘I really like you, I miss you, that is all for you.’ And my trade in sharing his story could be to say ‘I really like you, I miss you, that is all for you.’”