JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A local man made the ultimate sacrifice for Ukraine.
Edward Wilton III, 22, died about a month ago after he volunteered to fight with the Ukrainian military. He went to school in the Jacksonville area and on Thursday his loved ones will lay him to rest in Mandarin.
Wilton grew up in Florida, including Orange Park, but his loved ones are from Ukraine.
“My son Edward was an adventurer. He was a military man, good person. Honest person,” said father Edward Wilton II.
Edward Wilton II has fond memories of his son.
“He has been military-minded since the beginning since he was born,” he said.
A little more than a year ago, barely 21 years old, he followed his passion and signed up to fight Russian invaders with the Ukrainian armed forces.
“He wanted to go defend his heritage...his ancestors and his, and he put it like this, ‘These are my ancestors. It’s the land of my ancestors,’” Edward Wilton II said. “Several members of the family did very much try to talk him out of it and would get angry with him. But I saw it as his passion and his dream. And I think he was happy.”
His grandmother grew up in a Ukrainian household in the United States and passed down traditions.
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Edward Wilton III gave few specific details for everyone’s safety, but family members said he worked with the special forces and was part of a lot of combat. Weeks before his death, he’d been hit by shrapnel.
His father said he spoke to him right before he was killed.
“And he did a video call, which was unusual,” Edward Wilton II said. “And we talked for about an hour. And it was an unusual conversation, but we really lived our lives. And he thanked me for a bunch of things. And we talked and just had a wonderful father-son conversation that, you know, any parent would dream of. And at the end of it, you know, you heard some kind of rustling in the background, and someone was like, come on, and he’s like, I gotta go.”
The next call was from the Embassy. Officials said he’d been killed in a barrage of artillery fire.
His father said he spoke about his favorite team, the Jacksonville Jaguars after he was shot and before he died.
“He loved the Jaguars. I talked with some of his buddies in the field. And, you know, they were giving me some of the details of how he died,” Wilton said. “It was a night operation. So they were talking to him and he was joking with them. And he started making fun of one of his, I think, the squad leader for his football choices. And the squad leader said, ‘Well, what about you? You’re a Jags fan.’ And his comeback was ‘The Jacksonville Jaguars are going to win the Super Bowl. And Trevor Lawrence is awesome.’ And those may have been his last words because he died not long after that.”
The head of Ukraine’s military later sent a commendation honoring his “courage, valor and patriotism.”
“Absolutely a hero to Ukraine,” Edward Wilton II said. “And that’s how he’s referred to in conversation with Ukrainians is hero of Ukraine.”
A month later, his body is now back home and his family and friends are preparing to say goodbye to a young man who gave it all for a cause he believed in.
Edward’s funeral is Thursday at St. Joseph’s Historic Catholic Church in Mandarin. It starts at 10 a.m. His father said everyone is welcome.
While Americans are not prohibited from going to Ukraine, the Department of State continues to advise that U.S. citizens not travel to the country due to the conflict.