An American family who have been waiting to receive the return of their son’s body after he died in combat in Ukraine said his remains are now being held pending a possible war crimes inquest.
Joshua Jones, 24, was killed on August 26 while fighting for the Ukrainian Foreign Legion. After his death, the soldier’s body was held by Russian troops in the Donbass region for several weeks.
Finally, last week, the family was informed that Joshua’s body had been turned over to Ukraine after a period of negotiations.
However, his family now says they have been told his body will not be returned yet.
Joshua Jones, 24, was killed in August while fighting for the Ukrainian Foreign Legion
Misty Gossett, 48, says her son Josh’s body is being held in Ukraine pending a war crimes investigation
CNN overheard the transfer of Joshua’s body to the Zaporizhia region last week, before telling his family that a second autopsy would be performed
Misty Gossett, 48, Joshua’s mother, recently sat down with NBC News to talk about the latest heartbreaking update.
The mother told the national news agency that it was another step in a nightmare.
Gossett said the family had already begun preparing to receive Joshua’s body.
“Every day it gets longer and we’re just trying to get him to settle down,” Gossett said during the interview.
The mother said she was not given any further details, including what is going on with his body or why.
She also said the Ukrainians who contacted her told her they would do a second autopsy and needed family members to send a DNA sample for testing, but did not specify what type of test it was acted.
“We don’t know anything about how long it will be before he gets home. Communication is exhausting.”
She shared the news with NBC on Tuesday, less than a week after she said she had been informed that her son’s body had been secured.
Josh’s parents and family members have placed a memorial for him as they wait for his body to return home so they can give it a proper burial
Joshua was killed in August while fighting for Ukraine’s independence, according to his family
A CNN team witnessed the transfer of Joshua’s body in the Zaporizhia region on October 26.
Both sides had agreed on a two-hour ceasefire in the no man’s land between Russian- and Ukrainian-controlled Ukraine.
In a phone call to CNN last week, Jeff Jones, Joshua’s father, told the outlet, “We got him back!”
“I can’t tell you what a burden is being lifted from this family,” the father said at the time. “I couldn’t give up that hope.”
CNN was at the scene in Ukraine when the Russians turned over Joshua’s body on October 26
Joshua’s mother told NBC that she is afraid of the next steps and how long the process could take. Gossett says it has already been a difficult process for everyone involved.
“We got to the point where we stood still and we kept being told, ‘He’s on a list, he’s on a list, he’s on a list,'” she said.
The mother said that sometimes it seemed impossible to bring his body back to Ukraine.
She told a reporter that family members would spend eight to 10 hours a day making calls to see how the process could move forward.
The mother also said the family amassed two notebooks of contacts they tried to use to get Josh home.
Gossett, far left, said she and other family members worked eight to 10 hours a day to get Joshua’s body from Russia to Ukraine
Despite being told her son had died, Gossett told NBC News that she often clung to the hope that they might have been wrong and that Joshua might have survived.
“Your mind plays tricks on you during grief,” she said in her recent interview.
“He was so strong that I thought there was a chance. On Wednesday – it’s just emotions bouncing back so cruelly.
Hope has since died as the family remains committed to getting their loved one home and put to rest.
She said her son was a “rebellious but loving child” who was committed to serving his country, which he eventually did.
Joshua served in the US Army for three years, the family said.
He decided to travel to Ukraine in March after news of the invasion broke. His mother said he left the day before his birthday.
Joshua’s mother also said she filled two entire notebooks with contacts she made while trying to locate her son’s body and bring it home
Last but not least, the mother says she hopes other families and Americans will learn about the “grueling” process they went through.
“It’s just so disorganized and exhausting,” Gossett told NBC. “If your child or spouse goes there and you lose them, you have to go through something no one should do — in addition to losing someone they love.
The national news agency spoke to people who had dealt with similar cases, and they estimated this new delay could last weeks or even months.
“We saw that this process took about a month after the Ukrainians received the body,” said Dominik Byrne, head of a nonprofit organization that helps families who lost a loved one in combat in Ukraine.
The country continues to be ravaged by war while Russians and Ukrainians continue to fight over Ukrainian land
The office building of a car dealer destroyed in a Russian missile attack in Zaporizhia, Ukraine, in early October
Firefighters cover the body of a man killed by Russian shelling in the city of Zaporizhia last month
Russia has repeatedly denied all war crimes allegations leveled against the vast nation.
However, Ukraine continues to document cases of potential war crimes committed by the country and its forces.
State Department spokesman Ned Price released the following statement last week after news broke of the recovery of Joshua’s body.
“The United States extends our condolences to the family of the US citizen killed in the fighting in Ukraine, whose remains have now been identified and placed in the custody of Ukraine,” he said.
‘They will be returned to the family soon. The United States is grateful to Ukraine for including the recovery of this person’s remains in its negotiations with Russia.’
Josh, left, had previous military experience before deciding to join the fight in Ukraine
Josh’s family said he served in the US Army for three years, which is what he wanted to do since he was a child
In early October, another American fighting in Ukraine was found to have been killed while volunteering in the country under attack by Russian forces.
Dane Partridge was hit by shrapnel and killed, his family confirmed in a Facebook post last month.
On October 10, Dane’s sister, Jenny Partridge, shared an update with Corry on his Facebook page, telling his friends that he was involved in an incident and was on life support.
A Kiev military doctor spoke to the family and let them know that Dane’s scans showed “brain damage and edema” with extensive damage to the spinal cord, brainstem and neck.
The family released heartbreaking photos of Dane on life support following the incident. His sister Jenny said that shrapnel entered his brain
Dane Partridge was an army veteran who died in the “freedom struggle” in Ukraine, leaving behind a wife and children
At the time, the doctor said the results were “not life-promoting,” according to a family Facebook post.
Less than 48 hours after this post, Jenny shared another somber update.
“We have just been informed that Dane aka Bird has died while still on life support,” Jenny wrote.
“He was a good soldier who fought on the battlefield with bravery and bravery. We were told that he was known for leading his team and leading his men as he would never ask anything of his men that he wasn’t willing to do,” Jenny said.
Dane traveled to Ukraine in April after saying he felt called to help the people and the country in times of need.
Dane will always be remembered by his friends and family as a brave warrior who was selfless in his quest for freedom, according to posts on social media
He said at the time that he “felt the need to go” and that he was confident in his choice.
“I felt the need to go to Ukraine. This has been discussed with several people and I am confident in my decision to go. I am reaching out to see if I can get support to get there,” Dane wrote.
Dane left behind a wife and children whom his sister said he loved dearly.