The 27-year-old from St. Mary’s County in Maryland was killed Aug. 10 while attempting to evacuate people from a building in the Syrian city of Manbij as it was being shelled by the militant group, according to his sister Brenna Savage.

“When I hear about his bravery and his heroism, I’m like ‘My brother?'” said Brenna, who lives in Greenbelt, Md. “But this is what he wanted to do. He wanted to help people and to fight, and he did what he wanted to do.”

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At least four U.S. citizens have been killed fighting against the Islamic State with local forces in Iraq and Syria, including three — Savage, Levi Shirley and Jordan MacTaggart — who were killed in the battle for Manbij, a city in northern Syria that U.S.-backed forces took back from militants last month. Their remains are expected to arrive in the United States in coming days after long delays.

The State Department helps the families of Americans who die abroad to recover their remains, and consular officers can assist in making arrangements for a burial overseas or to bring the remains back to the United States.

But the U.S. government, to the disappointment of some relatives of the dead, does not offer official condolences or financial assistance, even if the dead were killed fighting with U.S.-backed groups.

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In a statement, the State Department said it is “working to help facilitate the return of the remains of U.S. citizens reported killed in Syria.”

“We remain in close contact with local authorities and stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance,” the statement said. “We have no additional information to offer at this time.”

Hundreds of Americans are believed to have traveled from the United States to Iraq and Syria to fight against the Islamic State with U.S.-backed militias. The practice falls in a gray area legally: The State Department warns Americans against traveling to Iraq or Syria to “engage in armed conflict.” But the emphasis has remained on preventing Americans from joining the Islamic State and other groups that are considered terrorist organizations, rather than on militias the United States backs in combat.

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Ryan Greer, a former counterterrorism adviser for the State Department and CEO at the counterterrorism consultant firm Vasa Strategies, said that U.S. law does not expressly prohibit fighting for a group that poses no threat to the United States or its allies. The situation could grow more complicated in Syria, however, following the Turkish military’s push over the border late last month.

Turkey, a NATO ally, considers the YPG an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which the United States has labeled a terrorist organization. The Turkish military and the YPG have had several deadly exchanges of fire since. Keith Broomfield, the first American killed while serving in a militia against the Islamic State, was repatriated through Turkey in June 2015, but that option no longer appears possible.

The status of the repatriation of the three American YPG members got a boost last week when their remains crossed over the border from Syria to Iraq on their way to Irbil, the capital of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region. The expectation is the bodies will be transported to the United States on a cargo plane paid for by Kurdish officials, said Brenna Savage and Susan Shirley, whose son was killed by a landmine in the Manbij region on July 14.

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Shirley said her family initially wondered how they would be able to afford to get her son’s remains home to Arvada, Colo. She set up a GoFundMe page to pay for repatriation, and said the more than $11,000 pledged will now go to mortuary and memorial expenses, with the rest being donated to pro-Kurdish groups or charities working with refugees.

“We thought we would have to pay between $7,500 and $10,000 for the trip home,” said Susan Shirley. She added that the Kurds “will not hear of us paying; they say it is a point of honor.”

The YPG has recognized the death of Westerners killed in combat against the Islamic State with parades and online memorials. In Canada, thousands of citizens also decided last summer to line the 105-mile “Highway of Heroes” typically used to recognize fallen Canadian soldiers overseas to mark the death of John Gallagher, an army veteran who was killed serving with Kurdish forces.

“We try to give the bodies back to the families, otherwise they would be buried in our martyrs’ cemeteries and they would be dealt with the same respect,” Polat Can, a YPG spokesman, said in an email.

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Reginald Savage, William’s father, said in a phone interview that his son knew how dangerous it would be in Syria and chose to stay. He added that it is disappointing that Americans who join U.S.-backed militias to fight the Islamic State are not given more recognition by the U.S. government.

“YPG is holding them off and pushing them back, and we’re backing them,” he said. “The fact that these are American volunteers who acted outside of the military system is irrelevant. Someone should step up, offer condolences and say, ‘We’re sorry this happened to you.’ And it’s just not happening.”

Zakaria Zakaria contributed to this report from Istanbul.