The U.S. Veteran and Wisconsin Boy Who Went to Fight ISIS in Syria

Battle Tested

What motivated an American to go to war for the Kurds? Jordan Matson’s troubled path from the Army and a pre-election suicide bid to the front lines with the YPG.

Published Oct. 3 2014 5:55AM EDT

articles/2014/10/03/the-wisconsin-boy-fighting-isis-in-syria/141002-siegel-fighter-tease_djwxi5 — via Facebook

As American warplanes began airstrikes in Syria, a 28-year-old Army veteran from Wisconsin told friends he had traveled to the country to join a Kurdish militia in the fight against ISIS.

After an early discharge from the military, friends say Jordan Matson was searching for something.

Jacob Siegel

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The U.S. Veteran and Wisconsin Boy Who Went to Fight ISIS in Syria

What motivated an American to go to war for the Kurds? Jordan Matson’s troubled path from the Army and a pre-election suicide bid to the front lines with the YPG.

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Jacob Siegel