Cancel was killed fighting on the side of Ukrainian forces, members of the Cancel family confirmed to CNN. The 22-year-old was working for a private military contractor when he was killed on April 25. The company sent him to Ukraine and he was paid while he was fighting there, Cancel’s mother Rebecca Cabrera told CNN. Cancel served in the U.S. Marine Corps from December 2017 to November 2021, according to Marine Corps spokesman Major Jim Stenger. Cabrera said her son enrolled to work for the private contract military company in addition to his full-time job as a penitentiary in Tennessee shortly before the outbreak of war in Ukraine in late February. When the war broke out, the company was looking for contractors to fight in Ukraine and Cancel agreed to go, his mother said. “He wanted to go because he believed in what Ukraine was fighting for and he wanted to be a part of it to limit it there so that he would not come here, and that maybe our American soldiers should not be involved in that,” he said. Cabrera on CNN in a telephone interview. White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki expressed condolences to Cancel’s family on Friday, saying the US government had not officially confirmed his death and warned Americans not to travel to Ukraine for any reason. Asked by CNN’s MJ Lee about Cancel’s death, Psaki said during a White House press conference: “Well, first of all, our hearts go out to his family and loved ones … No “We have official confirmation, although I have seen the reports, but we did not have this formal process through the government, so I can not talk about other details about him beyond that.” He then warned Americans traveling to Ukraine to get their weapons. “We know the Americans are looking for ways to help and the reports about this person were that he is a veteran,” he said. “He had a child, I think, and he certainly sounded like a very passionate, young man. We know people want to help, but we encourage Americans to find other ways to do it … instead of traveling to Ukraine to fight.” “It’s an active war zone. And we know the Americans are in great danger, but we know for a fact that a family is mourning. A wife is mourning and our hearts are with them,” he said. Psaki also reiterated that the government’s advice “was for Americans not to travel to Ukraine for any reason.”
Cancellation of military service
Cancel joined the Marines on December 25, 2017 and left the service on November 2, 2021, according to Stenger, a spokesman for the Marine Corps. He has received numerous awards during his service, including the National Defense Service Medal, the Maritime Service Development Ribbon, the Korean Defense Service Medal, and the World War on Terrorism Service Medal, as evidenced by his service history. It had no developments. His last mission to the US Marines was at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Cancel was convicted by a military judge of violating a lawful general order in a special military court at the Marine Corps Base Camp at Camp Lejeune on August 31, 2020. A military judge has sentenced Cancel to 154 days in custody, a reduction in E-1 rank and a discharge from the U.S. Marine Corps, according to Stenger. It is not clear what legitimate general mandate Cancel violated. This story has been updated with additional details. CNN’s Clarissa Ward contributed to this report.
