DENVER — Three young Americans who never joined the U.S. military but died fighting the Islamic State group in Syria will return home to military-type honors.

The caskets of Levi Shirley, Jordan MacTaggart and William Savage were due to arrive home Friday after a complicated journey without ceremony.

Shirley and MacTaggart are from Colorado. Savage, of Maryland, will be transported to North Carolina, where his father lives.

Their families will each be presented with a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol.

The men died separately in combat after joining the People’s Protection Units — the main Kurdish guerrilla group battling the Islamic State in Syria.

Turkey’s tense relationship with the Kurds and the U.S. since July’s failed coup hindered efforts to bring the three men home.