Medic with Santa Fe group killed while evacuating Ukrainian civilians

A retired U.S. Marine medic was killed while volunteering in Ukraine with a Santa Fe-based humanitarian aid organization.

Pete Reed was reportedly hit by a missile while he was evacuating Ukrainian civilians. He was just 33.

During his short life, Reed was no stranger to helping people in the direst circumstances. The 33-year-old former Marine volunteered as a medic in Iraq in the fight against ISIS before helping evacuated residents in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

“It has been indicated that he actually used his body to shield another person from injury,” said Dr. Andrew Lustig, the founder and president of Global Outreach Doctors USA.

Global Outreach Doctors provides critical care and rescue services in countries affected by war and other disasters. Dr. Lustig first heard about Pete when he tried to call him but couldn’t reach him.

Since the incident, they’ve turned away every volunteer en route to Ukraine – though there is a small team still in the country.

“We are an organization with less than 500 volunteers. We are considered small. However, we box way above our weight and we have completed 40 missions in less than eight years,” Dr. Lustig stated.

“I have never met someone more selfless. Everything he did was always for the benefit of others,” Pete’s wife said.

Pete is at least the sixth American to be killed in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion about a year ago. Some had gone there to fight while others, like Reed, were there doing humanitarian work.