Keith Broomfield is the first American to die fighting against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL). His father told mourners at the funeral that God led his son to Syria to battle against the sadistic radical Islamic group.
“There was a lot of things that Keith tried that we won’t even mention, but it breaks your heart to see your children do that,” explained Tom Broomfield. “Keith got his heart straight and it was after that he said, ‘Dad I’m gonna go do this. I’ve seen what’s going on and it doesn’t make a lot of sense, but I have to go do this.’”
Keith spent time in prison for drugs and weapons possession. Then, after a motorcycle accident, which caused chronic pain, “he rediscovered his faith and the pain went away.”
His mother read a letter from a man in Turkey whom Keith met before he went into Syria.
“I was wondering how he would be able to kill anyone if he’s got such a gentle heart,” he wrote. “But he said he would be able to in order to save innocent people, especially children.”
He never received formal military training, but that did not stop Keith from fighting. In a video, he said, “it seems like the right thing to do.” His obituary states he died “fighting in defense of those being persecuted for their Christian faith. His heart was for the protection of the innocence of Kurdish women and children.”
More and more foreigners are jumping into the war against ISIS. Jordan Matson, who hails from Wisconsin, told The London Times “that almost half of the foreign fighters that have joined the People’s Protection Units (YPG) were British.” Actor Michael Enright went to Syria after the terrorists beheaded American journalist James Foley.