When former U.S. soldier Jordan Matson learned about ISIS rampage across Iraq and Syria, he knew he couldn't sit back and do nothing. So the 28-year-old food packaging worker from Sturtevant, Wisconsin contacted the Kurdish militia - known as the People's Protection Units or YPG - through Facebook. 'I prayed about it for about a month or two,' Matson, a Christian, told CNN. 'And I really soul searched and said, "is this really what I want to do?" Eventually, I decided to do it.' Matson flew to Turkey and was taken to Rojava, a Kurdish-controlled area of northern Syria. For the past month, he has been a volunteer fighter helping to defend three small statelets in the area.
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Jordan Matson, from Wisconsin, watched as cities in Iraq fell to ISIS and refused to allow places American's had fought hard to protect be destroyed
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He contacted the People's Protection Units or YPG through Facebook before flying to Turkey and then being taken to northern Syria
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He has been a volunteer fighter for a month
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Two days after he started fighting, he was hit by a mortar; during his recovery, he has been on social media recruiting others to help the fight
During his two years in the @placeholder military, he never served abroad - but on the second day fighting in Syria, he was struck by a mortar round during a firefight with ISIS.