The long journey home for John James Witherspoon, a tribal citizen of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians who was killed while fighting in Ukraine last year, is almost complete.
An infantry platoon member with the second battalion of the International Legion, Witherspoon, 28, was killed in action Jan. 17, 2025, near the village of Vozvyzhenka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk Oblast.
Sandra Witherspoon, John’s mother and chairwoman of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, told Native News Online that Russian forces captured her son’s remains and held them for more than a year.
His remains are scheduled to arrive in Charlevoix, Michigan, where he grew up, on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026.
“Our family is deeply humbled and grateful for the profound honor and respect shown to our son by the people of Ukraine and the U.S.,” Sandra Witherspoon said. “We are heartbroken that he was killed, but we are so proud of his desire to serve.”
His battlefield call sign was “Geronimo,” a name he carried with pride, according to his family.
Family members said Witherspoon volunteered to defend what he described as the freedom, sovereignty and ancestral lands of civilians, drawing parallels to the history of Native American people.
“On behalf of our son, John James, we say ‘Kchi-miigwetch!’ Thank you so much for the outpouring of love, support and prayers for John James and our family during this difficult time,” his parents wrote in a statement to Native News Online. “Please continue to pray for John’s brothers in arms, and for peace and the fair, respectful treatment of the innocent people of Ukraine.”
Born Dec. 31, 1996, in Cloquet, Minnesota, Witherspoon was raised in Charlevoix. He attended Charlevoix Public Schools and Northwest Academy before graduating from Interlochen Arts Academy in 2015, where he excelled in music. He continued to play music with friends in the years following graduation and worked a variety of jobs.
A funeral procession will depart the township hall at 11 a.m. Friday and travel to Greensky Hill Indian Cemetery, where he will be laid to rest.
Witherspoon is survived by his parents, John and Sandra Witherspoon; a sister, Sarah Rostar, and her husband, Mike; a brother, Nathan Shawano; and several nieces and nephews, including Wren Massey, Jordin Harrell, Tyler Gellis, Claire Tennant, Alexia Massey, Dayton Shawano, Calob Rostar and great-nephew Cai Tennant-Rose.
Additional survivors include an aunt, Patricia Deckrow, and her husband, James; an aunt, Connie DiDomenico, and her husband, Don; an uncle, Louis Oudin; Jonathan and Daniel Oudin; Luke Fertal; and numerous cousins and friends.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents James and Lois Witherspoon and Cornelius and Dorothy Tookalo-Dyer; a sister, Jennifer Louise Witherspoon; and an aunt, Carole Dyer-Oudin.