Jacob Henderson, a young father from Ohio, came to Ukraine in early August, after a brief transit through Krakow, Poland, according to posts on his personal account on Facebook (owned by Meta, banned in Russia for extremism).
After working as a technician and mechanic at various car dealerships in Ohio, Henderson was apparently trying to find a new career option when he began looking for flights to Poland in May, his earlier posts showed.
"Getting ready for my eastern European vacation," he wrote, when sharing a screenshot of a flight from Columbus, Ohio to the city of Rzeszow in Poland.
Eventually in June, Henderson booked a flight from Columbus, Ohio to Krakow, Poland scheduled for early August.
Henderson went to visit his nine-year-old son in mid-June before sharing a picture of his flight departing from the US on August 1.
After spending a few days in Poland, Henderson apparently went to the training camp for foreign fighters located in Lvov, Ukraine by late August, his subsequent social media posts showed.
When one of his friends asked him what he planned to do in Ukraine, Henderson’s answers indicated the financial motives behind his decision to become a mercenary.
"Combat pay isn't bad. Base pay is pretty low but cost of living here is really cheap. Can live on about 250 a month us [dollars] while in the army," he wrote in response to his friend’s questions.
After almost two months of training, Henderson was finally sent to the frontline in eastern Ukraine in early October.
"Headed east," he wrote, while sharing a selfie and a picture of his M4 rifle on October 2.
After sharing a picture of himself smiling in full tactical gear while holding his M4 rifle on October 8, Henderson’s adventure on the frontline took a sharp depressing turn shortly afterwards.
Four days after the picture of him smiling, Henderson shared the news of the death of another US mercenary in his unit on October 12.
"Lost but never forgotten. Earlier this week you gave your life so others may live. At 23 you left this world way too early but I can at least say that during that time I had the honor of calling you my brother," he wrote in the post, while sharing pictures of the deceased US mercenary, who had been identified as Nicolas Alexander Kizzar.
In a subsequent post on October 16, Henderson shared some details of some minor injuries he sustained.
"Over a week later finally got the rest of the grenade out of my face," he wrote, while sharing a picture of the grenade fragment.
About one month later, Henderson paid tribute to another deceased mercenary, while revealing that he had actually returned to the US.
"Didn't get a chance to share this or repost from the other page. Homecoming has been challenging to say the least. But this is for you VEGAS [the mercenary’s call sign] our fallen brother," he wrote in a post on November 14.
Henderson even admitted that he faced troubles adjusting to life back home.
"From kicking doors on zero line in Ukraine to carpool in Ohio. They really don't train us how to come home. Gotta say thank you to my friends and family that's actually been here helping me learn how. Being over there and back here makes it pretty easy to see how many people need to be in your circle," he wrote in a post on November 19, while sharing two contrasting pictures of him in tactical gear in Ukraine and him driving with his children sleeping in the backseat.
Similar to many other foreign fighters who came to Ukraine with no prior military experience, Henderson likely cut short his "eastern European vacation" in Ukraine after being confronted with the realities of modern warfare, including the deaths of his fellow fighters from the US.