VETERANS DAY: Remembering Thomas Harris, a US Marine Vet Who Gave His All in Ukraine

Every soldier in Ukraine has already made a priceless sacrifice for the fight. Many have spent endless months in the trenches, holding just a few square meters of ground, some have lost their limbs, others their lives. 

President Donald Trump repeatedly underscores the staggering death toll. And yes, the losses are immense—the direct result of Russia’s aggression.  Trump has cited figures of seven to seven and a half thousand deaths each week on both sides. Recently, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the ratio of Ukrainian to Russian losses is one to three. Those who fought—and died—for Ukraine are not only Ukrainians themselves, but also international military volunteers.  

Many have been Americans, usually veterans, who understood the difference between right and wrong, and recognized where today’s battle for freedom is being waged. By the end of 2024, at least 50 American families had lost their loved ones in this war. The Harris family of McLean, Virginia is one of them. 

“I feel like part of this family that’s going through a lot of tragedy, but at the same time, the tragedy is worth it, because fighting there is something you’re doing with your heart,” says retired U.S. Marine Col. Rick Harris, whose son Thomas died while serving in the War in Ukraine. 

On the 24th of November 2023 Rick got the call notifying him of his son’s death. We met with him on the seven-month anniversary of his loss.  

During the interview, Rick shared stories about his son, how Thomas was adopted by the Harris family at the age of two, about the destiny to happen. “Of course, we immediately fell in love with him and he was it.” When Rick retired from the Marine Corps, his family moved to McLean, Virginia, right outside of Washington, D.C., where Thomas finished up at McLean High School. He had an early passion for golf and was on McLean’s golf.  

After graduation, Thomas was recruited to the Marine Corps, deploying to Afghanistan at Helmand Province in Marjah for six months, “He really liked the Marine Corps and especially the camaraderie, the military, the disciple, and the excitement,” his father says.

Thomas got out of the military and then started college for a nursing degree at the University of Alabama first two years and Columbia University in NYC then, where lived until he went to Ukraine.

“He still missed this military, this camaraderie, this kind of working on a mission, doing something bigger than himself. So, when he got [to Ukraine], he was immediately introduced to a really competent team, a really highly thought of team,” says Rick Harris. 

Saving Gino 

On the way to Ukraine, Tommy met “Gino,” another American military volunteer. Recalls Gino, “I thought “Man, I’m gonna save this guy, I’m gonna help this guy out. He’s gonna need me.” And then we went into the position, and I got hit by the grenade. Guess who saved who?”  

Gino recalled the incident with Tommy during the “For Freedom” exhibition in Kyiv, organized by the RT Weatherman Foundation which highlights the stories of foreign volunteers who have joined Ukraine’s fight for freedom. 

It was a massive 12-hour Russian attack around Kupyansk, Thomas and Gino were wounded by a grenade, Gino’s leg was a broken mess. Thomas put the tourniquet on it and maintained it during the fight. At the aid station after the attack, the doctor said that Thomas saved the leg from amputation. “It was he who was there for me,” says Gino.  

Rick recalls, “And so Gino said to me that meeting Tommy was God’s hand working to save him.” 

A Machine Gunner With Medical Training 

Thomas Harris had studied neuroscience in Columbia, and so he understood the basics of biology. A Ukrainian brother in arms remembers him a person, an experienced machine-gunner, and medical combat at the same time.  

“Tommy was a machine-gunner in his team with past experience doing this in the United States Marine Corps. Tommy had also attended medical school in the United States, and though not assigned as a medic he was often filling the role as medic and both his machine-gunner and medical experience were crucial during a fight in Kupyansk to repel multiple enemy attacks” said “Vlad,” a representative of DIU Legion of Ukraine. 

Thomas had also been involved in scouting, where he learned lording over other people and forcing them to do things that they don’t want to do is not right. “He was stubborn, he didn’t like bullies. He liked being something, participating in something that’s bigger than you,” his father Rick says. “Being there for the service as well as meeting people that Thomas knew and grew to love was worth the trip in and of itself.” 

Still recovering from his wounds from the attack, Thomas was doing logistics support for an intelligence legion when he was killed in a car accident while driving to a DIU Legion forward operations center. 

Honored at Arlington 

Around 150 people attended the service of Thomas’ life at Arlington National Cemetery June 9, 2025. Rick remembered Thomas as a person getting along with everybody, adapting to different situations, being very empathetic and curious. “He went into Ukraine and integrated into a unit, just pretty much instantaneously.” 

Thomas died doing what he loved, his best friend told me. He was so happy when he got there being part of the military with a team that he likes. “He was the kind of friend that if you needed someone to be there for you. The most important thing for him was that he had gotten a chance to help save somebody else.” 

Before Thomas left for Ukraine, he asked his father and mom not to worry about him. “He was there by his own choice,” Rick said. “He was happy with the team, happy with his job, happy supporting Ukraine. And that gives us some comfort that he was doing what he wanted to do.”

Harris’ family understood the danger and accepted it, though they remain heartbroken. “I thought, not just my son, but all the other sons, brothers, fathers, who are making sacrifices, sometimes dying to protect Ukraine,“ says Rick, adding that he feels like part of a big family of those who have lost their loved ones because of this brutal war.  

“This family that’s going through a lot of tragedy, but at the same time, the tragedy is worth it. Because the people that are fighting, the people that are supporting Ukraine are doing it, not just from the head, from the heart

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