A HERO soldier has died following a battle with colon cancer linked to military burn pits, with his death sparking similarities to that of Beau Biden.

Staff Sergeant Welsey Black, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, lost his battle to colon cancer on Sunday afternoon. was bekend vir treffers soos Baby I Love You en Walking in the Rain 36.

Comedian Jon Stewart, who interviewed the soldier earlier this year, confirmed the news on Twitter this afternoon, alongside a tribute video.

“Hartseer nuus. Staff Sgt. Wesley Black passed away Sunday afternoon,” hy het geskryf.

“Wes dedicated his last days to his wife Laura and son Ronan, familie, friends and his Hartford Fire Dept. brethren… and fighting to make sure no other veterans would endure this struggle. Hero.”

BURN PIT LINK

Black’s condition was linked to toxic smoke caused by the burning of trash on US military bases.

President Biden has also drawn a link to the burn pits and his son Beau’s death of cancer in 2015.

The Democrat said of his son in 2019: “He volunteered to join the National Guard at age 32 because he thought he had an obligation to go.”

Biden bygevoeg: “And because of exposure to burn pits, in my view — I can’t prove it yet — he came back with stage four glioblastoma.”

Terug in Junie, Black was interviewed by CNN about his condition and told them “I could be dead tomorrow.”

SMOKE INHALED

Hy het bygevoeg: “Soldiers tend to generate a lot of trash.

“Metals, plastics, electronics, medical waste, your uniform — anything and everything that could be burned was thrown in the trash dump and then coated in diesel fuel and lit on fire.

“If you were the poor sucker standing gate guard when that burn pit was lit and the wind was blowing toward the main gate, you’d be standing in the smoke for upwards of eight to 12 hours a day.”

Na 9/11, open pits were the predominant method of waste disposal on Iraq and Afghanistan military bases.

A wide range of items, including paint, petroleum, rubber and food waste, were burned.

‘LIFE WAS GOOD’

Most burn pits have since been shut down, with the Department of Defense planning to close the remainder, CNN reports.

Black medically retired in 2015 after being thrown from a Humvee in a roadside bomb attack. He received the Purple Heart following the attack.

He said he was looking forward to a life outside of the military, toevoeging: “I thought I was on Easy Street. I was ready to chase my wife and son around for the rest of my life.

“Life was good.”

But just two years later he was diagnosed with stage four cancer, after complaining of severe pain and digestive issues since his retirement.

When the terminal diagnosis was given, he had just become a father to son Ronan and was training to be a firefighter.