Five Things to Know, May 2, 2022

1.   A first group of civilians trapped for weeks inside a steel plant in Mariupol under Russian siege was expected to reach a Ukrainian-controlled city on Monday, as a new attempt was launched to allow people sheltering elsewhere in the city to leave. Meanwhile. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made an unannounced trip to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Saturday, becoming the most senior US official to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky since the war broke out more than two months ago.

2.   A former U.S. Marine who died last week was believed to be the first American citizen killed while fighting in Ukraine. Willy Joseph Cancel, 22, died last week while working for a military contracting company that sent him to Ukraine, his mother, Rebecca Cabrera, told CNN. An undetermined number of other Americans — many with military backgrounds — are thought to be in the country battling Russian forces beside both Ukrainians and volunteers from other countries even though U.S. forces aren't directly involved in fighting aside from sending military materiel, humanitarian aid and money.

3.   Troops across the National Guard and reserve components of all military branches will see a standardized discharge form by 2025. After the new policy goes into effect, members will receive the new DD Form 214-1 when they retire or separate from one of the military’s reserve components. Currently, each service has its own reserve component separation form, such as the NGB 22 or the NAVPERS 1070/615.

4.   “I’m just lucky that’s all. I am just blessed to be alive now, all the things I’ve gone through, WWII and all, I am just really happy and blessed to be alive.”  Otha “Junior” Compton, one of the last surviving members of World War II’s U.S.S. John Hood and founder of the American Legion Post 68 in Bridgeport, W.Va., celebrated his 100th birthday last Friday.

5.   It may have been 50 years late, but some of Warren County’s (New York) Vietnam veterans received a Welcome-Home parade on Saturday. The group was not overly large and there was no ticker-tape, but there were men, women, and children waving flags, holding signs, and shouting thank you.