The body of the officer known as the "Russian Rambo" was returned to his country this week to receive a hero's welcome following his March death during a reconnaissance mission in the Palmyra region in Syria.
Alexander Prokhorenko, 25, posthumously rose to fame after he chose to call in an airstrike on himself and take Islamic State militants with him rather than allow himself to be captured and tortured after the militants surrounded him, according to CNN. His sacrificial death, which was confirmed on March 24, was his contribution towards liberating Palmyra from the Islamic State terrorists and earned him worldwide recognition and honor.
Body of 'Russian Rambo' who died after ordering an airstrike on himself because he was… https://t.co/y0yPGaGsqn pic.twitter.com/6qcCG4s2NQ
— Best My Song (@bestmysong) April 30, 2016
"I don’t want them to take me and parade me, conduct the airstrike, they will make a mockery of me and this uniform," the "Russian Rambo" allegedly said during his final moments as he called in the airstrike on himself. "I want to die with dignity and take all these bast**ds with me ... this is the end commander, thank you, tell my family and my country I love them. Tell them I was brave and I fought until I could no longer."
This week, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that Prokhorenko's body was returned to Moscow and welcomed with honor, according to Sputnik International.
"It was a matter of honor for the Defense Ministry to return the body of First Lieutenant Alexander Prokhorenko, Hero of the Russian Federation, from the hands of terrorists," the Ministry said in a statement. "The fallen officer's body was brought to Moscow after special actions involving the representatives of the Syrian government and Kurdish self-defense forces."
Prokhorenko's wife, Katya, who is pregnant with their first child, was there to greet his body upon its return, CNN reported.
BRAVE MAN - Russian 'Rambo' called in airstrikes on HIMSELF when surrounded by ISIS fighters https://t.co/W6GY3u08aY pic.twitter.com/rA4H4SnAEj
— Cletus (@Cletus1942) April 4, 2016
One of the teachers at Prokhorenko's old school, Gorodetskoy Middle School, indicated that there have been many calls to rename the school after him to honor him for his bravery and selflessness.
"It is a real act of bravery that we will tell our pupils about," said Gorodetskoy teacher Nadezhda Rusinova, according to Sputnik. "After all, order an airstrike on yourself is something that not everybody would be able to do."
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