Skyler James Greggs, a 23-year-old from Washington state who was interviewed by The Daily Beast after being injured in the Ukraine war, has died, his father and one of his former commanders have revealed.
Skyler’s father, Steve, and the commander have both confirmed his death to The Daily Beast. The commander, who didn’t want to include his name, told The Daily Beast that Skyler died “a hero” and that he was “a very brave, big-hearted man.”
The commander wouldn’t say where Skyler died due to operational security, and Ukraine’s International Legion hasn’t responded to comment requests from The Daily Beast about his death.
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Another contact in the Ukrainian army, who also did not want his name published, told The Daily Beast that he heard Skyler died in northeastern Ukraine, when soldiers from the International Legion came under artillery fire in the last week of October. Several were wounded in the attack.
In recent months, Ukrainian forces have carried out a counter-offensive in the north-east regions, liberating more than 300 settlements during a rapid push in September.
Skyler joined the International Legion in April. Two months later, in June, he was wounded near Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, when an explosive hit Skyler’s post near the frontline.
The Daily Beast met with Skyler in a hospital where he was recovering from injuries. A total of 14 fragments had penetrated his body, including his right foot, right arm, and shoulder.
Despite the injuries, he was determined to return to the frontline.
“The job isn’t finished,” he told The Daily Beast, “I have not finished what I came to do.”
Skyler told The Daily Beast this summer that he decided to join the International Legion after seeing the images of Russia entering Ukraine and being shocked by Russia’s atrocities.
The International Legion in Ukraine consists of foreigners and operates under the command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It is unclear how many Americans are currently fighting in Ukraine.
Skyler remembered seeing a Russian tank drive over a civilian car, which inspired him to take action and join the fight against Vladimir Putin’s army.
Skyler James Gregg at training camp before going to the Kharkiv region.
Courtesy Skyler James GreggIn his Washington state hometown of Orcas Island, Skyler lived with his father, who was against him going to Ukraine. But the young man was adamant, and he made the decision to sneak out of his home and travel to Ukraine to volunteer despite not having any military experience.
“I couldn’t just sit by. I had to do something,” Skyler told The Daily Beast in June. “I couldn’t just sit by. I have friends in Ukraine. It is so terrible what is happening. I needed to do something.”
When he arrived in Ukraine, Skyler was immediately accepted into the legion and was quickly transferred to the frontlines in Kharkiv. “I didn’t want to seem more experienced than I really was, so I just told them that I had the bare minimum experience,” said Skyler, “I didn’t want to get responsibility for others.”
Skyler, who became an LMG machine gunner, told The Daily Beast that his training in Ukraine was short and chaotic. From his hospital, he said that he understood if people thought he had made a “stupid” decision.
“There was an opportunity to go, so I had to do it,” said Skyler, “It would, of course, be possible for me to help in a humanitarian way, but I was just so angry. I was just so angry about the Russian invasion, so I couldn’t just work in a warehouse.”
Family and friends describe Skyler on Facebook as being a brave, strong young man with a good heart.
In his last messages to his father, Skyler shared photos with a woman from one of the liberated territories in northeastern Ukraine. Skyler was proud to show his father how he helped the woman connect with her daughters through a Starlink internet connection after five months apart.
“I will be honest and say that in the first couple of days, I was filled with frantic, frantic pain,” Steve told The Daily Beast, explaining that he has been in contact with a representative of the International Legion but that not much information has been provided.
Steve, who describes himself as a pacifist, had repeatedly warned Skyler against volunteering. “He did not have my permission to go, but I have a ton of respect for him,” said Steve.
Back in June, Steve had told The Daily Beast that Skyler liked to read the novel For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway. The book is about a young American who joins a guerrilla unit in the Spanish Civil War and is badly wounded after blowing up a bridge.
“I haven’t read the book in decades, but it might be time to look at it again to see what it means ‘for whom the bell tolls’,” said Steve. “You know, Skyler always wanted to give his all, and if he died, then he wanted it to set an example and to live his life fully.”
“In action and values,” Steve added. “He relished human connections, and it is tough for me to criticize his drive to help people. I cannot criticize that.”
