The father of a 32-year-old U.S. Marine veteran is speaking out after his son was killed while fighting in Ukraine during a Russian missile attack.
Ian Frank Tortorici was part of the International Legion, a group of foreign soldiers helping Ukraine during its war with invading Russia. He had survived 15 months of combat and had plans to marry his Ukrainian girlfriend before he was killed.
Jon Frank said his son aided with civilian evacuations and often provided emergency medical care to the wounded. In their last phone call, he told his father that he was taking some time off, retreating to the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk.
“I talked to him about food and restaurants. I asked him if any were open. He said a few. They weren’t any good, but they were open. That’s the last time I talked with him,” Jon Frank said.
Get Southern California news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC LA newsletters.
It was at a family pizzeria in the city center when, on June 27, Tortorici was killed in a Russian missile attack.
A graduate of Laguna Hills High School, Tortorici had visited Ukraine frequently after his tenure as a Marine Corps communications officer. The terrain, the culture, the people he found enchanting, along with a Ukrainian girl he met and planned to marry.
“I told him I was proud of him. I was proud of him a lot," Frank said.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
The Pentagon announced Friday it would supply Ukraine with so-called cluster bombs, an ordinance that has been banned in many countries because of injuries to civilians. The munition has been used indiscriminately by Russia.
Colin Kahl, the U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, said the Ukrainian government assured the U.S. it would not use the cluster bombs in “civilian environments.”
Frank said he hopes the munition will help Ukraine finish the job.
“They are outgunned. The Russians employ terrorist tactics, so they don’t have what they need,” he said.
Tortorici told his father he would not come home until Ukraine had prevailed and the war was over. A final burial is now planned at the Riverside National Cemetery.
“I had been preparing for this for a year and it has destroyed me,” Frank said.
