LUDLOW, Mass. - Agawam native and former U.S. Marine Michael St. John spent a month on the front lines in Ukraine as a soldier for the Ukrainian Foreign Legion in what he could only describe as a “nightmare.”
“Absolute chaos and pandemonium, it was nothing like what I saw when I served in Afghanistan,” St. John said. “When I was in Ukraine, I spent some time at a training base that was bombed. That made international news. We lost about the better part of 40 individuals in that bombing.”
St. John said he joined the Ukrainian Foreign Legion after seeing posts about it on a Facebook page he’d followed for almost a decade.
He said during his month in Ukraine, Russian tanks fired him on multiple times while staying at a hotel. He said he also witnessed civilian deaths, attacks on residential homes, and landmines placed in parks.
St. John reached out to the Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church after he returned home to help move additional aid to help civilians and fellow soldiers back in Ukraine.
“Getting whatever medical supplies we can because these are things that I’m personally going to be taking back over there to make sure they’re getting to even guys I know that are still out there on the front lines so they can help treat their wounded or even treat civilians that they come across that need this medical care,” St. John said.
St. John said he plans to return to Ukraine soon with more supplies to help those in need. He also said people can continue to support Ukraine in several ways, including donating money, medical supplies, and children’s clothing to the Saints Peter and Paul Ukraine Church’s effort.