The Massachusetts man who died while battling the Islamic State in Syria was guided by God, says his father.
Family and friends gathered for Keith Broomfield’s funeral in Hudson on Wednesday, believed to be the first U.S. citizen to die while fighting the terror group, according to The Associated Press.
Keith Broomfield died while fighting the Islamic State. (Facebook/Lions Of Rojava)
The 36 year-old had gotten into trouble with the law, his parents told the AP. But his father, Tom Broomfield, says after suffering a motorcycle accident, leaving him in chronic pain, Keith revived his faith in God. God straightened his son’s path and guided him to Syria.
“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,'” Tom told the AP.
The Lions Of Rojava Facebook page, used to recruit foreigners to fight with the Kurds, paid tribute to Broomfield’s service to the militia units known as the YPG.
Broomfield, who joined the YPG in February, “felt very connected to the Kurdish people and was a very generous and freedom loving person,” according to the post. It thanked Broomfield’s mother for raising “such a wonderful son” and promised to avenge his death.
The Massachusetts man, who had no military training, died on June 3 while fighting in a village near the Syria-Turkey border city of Kobani.
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