Three Young Americans, Killed Fighting ISIS, Return Home

Three young Americans killed fighting against ISIS have come home Friday.

The men were a part of the People's Protection Units, the main Kurdish guerilla group battling the Islamic State in Syria.

Levi Shirley, Jordan MacTaggart, and William Savage arrived Wednesday at Chicago O'Hare International Airport. 

Shirley and MacTaggart will return to Denver, while Savage will be transported back to his home in North Carolina.

"Though they did not fight as members of our Armed Forces, they are Americans and as Americans we have a responsibility to bring these young men home and to give the families relief and closure," Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., said in a statement.

Shirley's mother, Susan, worked with the State Department to bring her son's body home. 

"It took extraordinary measures by many people to get these men from Syria to the U.S., especially given the ever-changing and dangerous geopolitical dynamics in the Middle East," Perlmutter said. "It seems we are in the final stages of this long and sad situation."

Shirley said her son was in Syria "as an American to protect Americans." 

"They went to fight for the right side," said Joe Davis, spokesman for the national Veterans of Foreign Wars.