A former Jackson resident and area ski instructor was killed in Ukraine this week.
According to multiple reports, Pete Reed died on the frontlines of the country’s war against Russia while administering aid to civilians in the eastern city of Bakhmut in the Donbas region of the county, where missiles hit multiple cars of volunteers and injured several people on Thursday.
Reed was a medic and the founder of the international aid group Global Response Medicine (GRM). The group posted about Reed’s death on Facebook Friday morning.
“This is a stark reminder of the perils rescue and aid workers face in conflict zones as they serve citizens caught in the crossfire, Pete was just 33 years old, but lived a life in service of others, first as a decorated US Marine and then in humanitarian aid. GRM will strive to honor his legacy and the selfless service he practiced.”
According to the organization, Reed also served as board president for four years and in January went to work with Global Outreach Doctors as the Ukraine country director.
Originally from New Jersey, Reed was a former U.S. Marine Corps rifleman who served two tours in Afghanistan before coming to Jackson to work as a ski instructor, according to Global Outreach Doctors founder and president Andrew Lustig.
“He started his humanitarian career working with Team Rubicon after Hurricane Sandy hit his home state of New Jersey,” Lustig wrote on LinkedIn in January. “In the summer of 2014, he assisted in the training of 33 Haitian EMTS. In late 2015 he left Jackson Hole WY to begin medical training operations in Northern Iraq.”
Iraqi journalist, translator, and friend of Reed’s Sangar Khaleel wrote in a message to KHOL, “[Reed’s death] is a huge loss because he saved many lives in my country especially in my city while I was covering the war.”
This story is being updated.
