'A cause to fulfill': Logan town brings home volunteer fighter who died in Ukraine

His mother, Aleli Lamyaithong isn't sure what his role was with the Ukrainian military or how he died, but she says her son knew he was in a dangerous situation.

"I don't know the details," Aleli Lamyaithong said Friday. "I didn't want to know."

In his last communications to a friend on Christmas Day, his mother said, "he was being mobilized to a part where nobody survives. He knew his chances. Then [when Ukrainian officials] told me he was missing in action, they wanted me to assume he was dead."

Aleli Lamyaithong doesn't know why her son volunteered to fight in Ukraine.

"I don't have any clue," she said. "He was always strong in his convictions. Looking back, when I talked to most of his friends, he had a cause to fulfill. But I don't know why Ukraine. If he survived Ukraine, he might have [gone] to the next war."

Hundreds lined the streets of Man Thursday

On Thursday, he was brought home to the town that raised him as hundreds of residents lined the streets of downtown Man to welcome him back.

The procession, which traveled from Columbus, Ohio, rolled into downtown Man just after 6 p.m., making its way down Main Street and on to Krantz-McNeely Funeral Home, 115 Market St. A military color guard led the way as soldiers in Army dress blues removed his flag-draped casket from the hearse.

First responders from multiple agencies stood at attention as he was carried inside. Bev Baker, pastor at Bruce McDonald United Methodist Church, then led the gathered community in prayer.

The support for Tyrone Lamyaithong began at the West Virginia border.

"I've never even seen something like this," said Abby Asbury, a close family friend. "From the time we came into West Virginia, it's been so many first responders, people on the side of the road already with flags, you know, over an hour away and they knew about this and it was just miraculous."

'A friend to everybody'

Tyrone Lamyaithong was of Thai and Filipino heritage. His parents immigrated to the United States and moved to West Virginia for work opportunities.

He graduated from Man High School in 2011 and earned a civil engineering degree from West Virginia Institute of Technology in 2015. He enlisted in the West Virginia National Guard in January 2013, serving until September 2025, where he held positions including ammunition vehicle driver, gunner and howitzer section chief. He volunteered with the Ukrainian military in October 2025.

In addition to his mother, Tyrone Lamyaithong is survived by his father Piya and older brother, Andre Benja Ramiscal Lamyaithong.

Asbury described Tyrone Lamyaithong as someone defined by selflessness and joy.

"He was very selfless. He cared for a lot of people. Before you could even think, 'Should I do that?' he was doing it," she said. "Everyone had a Tyrone story. You did not forget Tyrone if you met Tyrone."

Asbury's husband, local physician Zackery Asbury, grew up with Tyrone Lamyaithong and described him as a friend to anyone who knew him.

"Tyrone was ... always brave and always loyal, and someone you could always depend on. He was a friend to everybody," Zackery Asbury said. "Every day [in school together], we'd spend time with one another at breakfast, at lunch. We were always in the same classroom, always talking, spending time with each other."

Man Mayor John Fekete credited cooperation among multiple agencies, from state Sen. Rupie Phillips, R-Logan, to the Logan County Sheriff's Office, West Virginia State Police, the City of Logan and the Town of Chapmanville, for the success of the evening's tribute.

"The people of southern West Virginia came through," Fekete said, "and we're going to proceed through these next days and lay him to rest with all the respect that we can give to the family."