Whatever your opinion of their music, there’s no arguing with the fact that Metallica are total mensches when it comes to the things they do outside of music. From their ceaseless charity work via their All Within My Hands foundation to James Hetfield personally phoning the fan who gave birth at one of their shows, they're among metal’s good guys.
You can add James Hetfield’s surprise visit to a pair of wounded Ukrainian soldiers to that list. According to a report in Colorado newspaper the Vail Daily, the singer recently dropped into a local health facility, where he met Roman Denysiuk and Igor Voinyi.
According to the Vail Daily, James was introduced to the two soldiers by Kelli Rohrig, co-founder of Limbs for Liberty, a local non-profit organisation founded to support Ukrainians who have been injured during the war.
The paper reports that Rohrig met Hetfield by chance in the hospital’s car park, introducing herself after he said, ‘Good morning.’ She then asked him to come and meet the two Ukrainians, along with translator Olga Milinan.
“Metallica’s songs are very popular in Ukraine,” Milinan told the paper. “Growing up, we all listened to them and dreamed of seeing them.”
According to Rohrig, Hetfield “wished the men luck and get better soon.” After the visit, he left a note on Rohrig’s car saying: “You made my day.”
Metallica are currently on the road in Europe as part of their M72 tour.
😎🤩 Metallica @Metallica frontman James Hetfield visits wounded Ukrainian soldiers Roman Denysiuk and Ihor Voynyi at Vail Health Hospital in the US.🤘When you've been a Metallica fan since childhood!📸: Kelli Rohrig pic.twitter.com/lePpiWy90uMay 22, 2023
