Even after the soldiers he was fighting alongside with stole most of his equipment a Port Hope man said he’d do it all over again.
Anthony Walker arrived home in Port Hope at 8 p.m. after his wife and children picked him up at Pearson Airport in Toronto on Monday, May 2, 2022.
While in Ukraine, a soldier or soldiers stole most of his equipment that he purchased with his own money. Approximate value, $8,000.
It’s not the way Walker envisioned returning home after leaving the safety of his home to help out in Ukraine on February 26.
Walker said he couldn’t stand to watch what was happening in Ukraine. So after posting online that he wanted to go, a supporter came forward and purchased a ticket for him. Within a few days, he was on his way to a country he’s never been too.
With the world of the internet, when Walker arrived in Poland he had no ride, but minutes after his father posted where his son was and where he needed to go a person met him.
Walker spent the first week along the Poland/Ukraine border helping out in anyway he could.
Having a bit of medical experience, Walker said at the beginning, “it was crazy.”
“At the beginning it was a lot more refugees then they were prepared for.”
With few volunteers and few tents for the number of refugees, there was a need for help in anyway.
In the beginning there were thousands of refugees coming through the Poland border. When Walker arrived, there were hundreds at a time – still very busy.
After raising funds online, Walker went shopping for what was needed.
The best part of it was that Walker could ask people in charge what they needed then go shopping near the Ukraine border in Poland to get the items.
From a generator, tents and chairs or whatever was needed Walker made multiple trips a day.
Garnering the trust of the Polish people at the border, Walker wanted to help out in any way in a medical capacity.
Speaking to border guards, Walker was told they there was a room where people who came injured from Ukraine were put. If they didn’t get better over time a ambulance was called to treat them.
Walker helped out and said the people treating a man were unintentionally killing him.
“They thought he was freezing to death, but he actually had hyperthermia. He was hallucinating very badly because he was way to hot.”
Walker treated the man and saved his life. He also told others what to watch out for in case other refugees come in with the same symptoms.
After seeing that Walker wanted to help, the border guards let him cross and go back without stamping his passport to perform first aid on refugees waiting in line.
Meeting up with a former Swedish soldier who had medical training the two men treated people waiting in line.
“We were helping people so when they got inside (Poland) they didn’t need to call an ambulance.”
“Some people needed low does pain killers, a lot of people just needed water, food and blankets.”
“There weren’t a lot of serious cases in line, but a lot of the stuff we saw was swelling. People had a lot of leg injuries because they had been walking for four or five days which is just insane.”
“When people are walking for four or five days, they are not sleeping very well. If they are sleeping it’s under the stars, no blankets or maybe they brought one blanket with them.”
Once they get into the border line you can only sleep for a few minutes at the time because of the line moving.
Walker then travelled to Lyviv where he met a businessman, but since the war worked as a coordinator with the Ukrainian Army bringing in truck loads of grenades and weapons, “then sending it off where it needs to go.”
“I honestly think he’s going to kill himself from all the work he does.”
The man was trying to get Walker set up with former Ukrainian Special Forces even with the limited medical training Walker had.
Walker and the group of soldiers he was with were sent to Yavoriv which was a military training facility that was sometimes used for NATO training.
“The night that we went there is when the missiles came in.”
Russian bombarded the facility with missiles starting at 5 a.m.
“There were no sirens,” giving the people staying there warning.
Walker says a Russian spy in the radar command that turned off the air-raid alarms.
“What woke me up was the first missile hitting the building next to mine.”
Windows shattered after each explosion struck the training facility.
Realizing there was a 50/50 chance a missile would strike where he was, Walker didn’t rush getting his gear on before exiting the building.
Walker estimates that eight or nine missiles struck the facility – in the first wave.
Word travelled there were two fatalities from the missile strikes.
Ironically, Walker was only at the training centre for 18-hours they were sent into the forest for six hours before being told that Russian forces may be heading in their direction.
Even though Walker was with former Ukrainian Special Forces because of the threat of Russian forces and the location they were at wasn’t very defensible and with very little ammunition, that would only last for what Walker said would only be a minute – they put down their weapons and walked away.
“I joined them because that’s your protection force and that’s the group that I came with.”
“If everyone with all the ammo is deciding to leave – you might not want to stay there.”
When they left, the bus took them to Poland, which Walker still questions why.
But after the group left the facility in the bus, “Russia had done their double tap.”
“And sent in 30 more missiles. And that’s when the fatality rate went up. The official number is 35. Russia says 180. Personally I think it’s somewhere in the middle around 100.”
“When I left there was fire trucks, ambulances and everything.”
“The second strike would have killed mostly first responders.”
Walker recalls when he first got to the base, they put him with the medics, “and I got I touch with a really cool guy which was ex-SAS.”
Even though kevlar (bullet proof vest) is useless for rifle rounds, Walker gave him his personal vest after the initial attack.
“He didn’t make it out of the second attack.”
The group of soldiers stayed in Poland overnight, then went back into Ukraine and eventually got to Kyiv where he met and worked with a number of different Ukraine military groups.
What ended Walker’s journey in helping people from another country is when the unit he was working with stole most of his military equipment.
Walker said he was with Ukrainian Security Service for approximately one month. When he came back from an excursion to a hotel which they used as a base, his helmet, night vision, tactical flashlights among other items were gone.
It was approximately $8,000 worth of equipment.
The only people who had access to the room was Walker and the person in charge of the unit.
“These guys are supposed to be the best of the best. And if the best of the best is stealing stuff from the people who are trying to help them – it doesn’t make me want to stay there at all.”
Within 90-minutes Walker left and made the trek back home.
“I figured if I stayed, they’d probably come in and steal the rest of my stuff, beat me or whatever.”
The trust was gone.
Leaving Warsaw, Walker arrived home in Port Hope at approximately 8 p.m. He’d been awake for nearly 22-hours.
When asked if he accomplished what he went over for Walker says, “yes and no.”
Walker says he did a lot of medical training to the Ukraine’s, taught a lot of people combat casualty care.
“If that helps to save one life – awesome – it’s worth it.”
Walker knows he made a difference saving the one person’s life in Poland.
“I know I made a difference.”
But he’ll always feel like he could have one more. And that’s something he’ll live with.
Without taking a breath, when asked if he’d do it again, even with brothers in arms stealing his equipment Walker says, “absolutely.”
“Just because some of them stole my stuff doesn’t mean that the ones I helped didn’t deserve to be helped.”
Walker says he has no doubt Ukraine will win the war they never wanted.
“Absolutely. There is no question.”
“Ukrainians have a lot more heart. They are fighting for a reason – you can tell. But the Russians are fighting because someone says to fight.”
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
