Joseph R. Biden III — better known as “Beau” — Iraq War veteran and eldest son United States Vice President Joe Biden lost a long battle with brain cancer on Saturday. He was 46.

According to The New York Times, Biden had spent last week receiving treatment at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

A lawyer, Beau Biden, was the former attorney general of Delaware after serving as a major in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He was deployed to Iraq in 2008 and received the Bronze Star.

Biden first joined the Delaware National Guard in 2003.

Many close to him say that he was planning on running for governor of Delaware before his illness became severe.

Here’s the statement issued by the Vice President via The White House on the passing of his son:

It is with broken hearts that Hallie, Hunter, Ashley, Jill and I announce the passing of our husband, brother and son, Beau, after he battled brain cancer with the same integrity, courage and strength he demonstrated every day of his life.

The entire Biden family is saddened beyond words. We know that Beau’s spirit will live on in all of us—especially through his brave wife, Hallie, and two remarkable children, Natalie and Hunter.

Beau’s life was defined by service to others. As a young lawyer, he worked to establish the rule of law in war-torn Kosovo. A major in the Delaware National Guard, he was an Iraq War veteran and was awarded the Bronze Star. As Delaware’s Attorney General, he fought for the powerless and made it his mission to protect children from abuse.

More than his professional accomplishments, Beau measured himself as a husband, father, son and brother. His absolute honor made him a role model for our family. Beau embodied my father’s saying that a parent knows success when his child turns out better than he did.

In the words of the Biden family: Beau Biden was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have ever known.

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