An American Has Joined A Kurdish Militia To Fight ISIS In Syria - And His Friends Are Cheering Him On With Memes
A 28-year-old Wisconsin man named Jordan Matson is reportedly in Syria and fighting with a Kurdish militia as they battle the jihadist group Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL). Back in the US, people identifying themselves as Matson's friends have created a page on Facebook where they are sharing pictures of Matson and cheering him on with memes.
A spokesperson for the Kurdish Yekineyen Parastina Gel, or YPG, told Reuters Matson is one of three American fighting with the group. They said he is in Northeastern Syria. The Facebook page entitled "Jordan matson - YPG" was created on Friday and currently has over 60 fans. A description for the page describes it as an effort to "support" Matson, who is identified as an Army veteran.
"TO SUPPORT US EX ARMY , JORDAN MATSON WHO IS IN SYRIA FIGHTING ISIS ALONG SIDE YPG SHOW SUPPORT AND JOIN THE PAGE," the description says.
According to a story published in the Daily Beast on Friday, Matson was an avid online gamer who wrote a Facebook post last month telling his friends he was "in Syria fighting for the YPG against ISIS." The Daily Beast reported Matson had a "troubled" path to Syria including brushes with the law and an early discharge from the US Army. In one of his purported Facebook posts dated Sept. 5, Matson described being injured in battle in Syria.
"I was hit by a mortar a few days ago during a 6 hour firefight but i am fine," the post said. "Delivered an ISIS bastard to hell."
The "Jordan matson - YPG" page features photos of a man identified as Matson wearing Kurdish military garb that have been posted by Kurdish social media accounts. It also has pictures and videos that seem to show the same man here in the US. There are also memes with photos of the man identified as Matson paired with messages like "FROM LAIDIES MAN TO WORLD HERO." People identifying themselves as Matson's friends have posted messages on the page. There is one message posted Friday that is written as though it came directly from Matson himself.
"Today has been a tough fight praise to the lord we lost no fighters and managed to run ISIS out of town," the message said. "Run mother fuckers back to big baghdadaddady and tell him Jordan Matson is in town and he's not leaving till you dead !"
Business Insider exchanged messages with the page's creator on Friday. They declined to say who they were or how they know Matson.
"dont need storys my good man i need support keep sharing my page," they wrote, later adding, "no phone calls in or out my friend."
There is another Facebook page identified as being Matson's personal account. It lists at least one person who has participated on the "Jordan matson - YPG" as one of Matson's family members. The profile picture for that page was updated on Sept. 30, over three weeks after the post saying Matson was injured, to one of the photos purportedly showing him in Kurdish military garb. Matson did not respond to a message sent from Business Insider to that page on Friday.
Check out some of the memes posted on the "Jordan matson - YPG" page below. You can see the full page here.
