Michael Seeley remembered by mother

A Mi'kmaq mother whose son was killed in action with the U.S. army in Iraq says he never questioned the controversial war or his participation in it.

Corporal Michael Seeley, 27, of Fredericton was killed by insurgents while on patrol in Iraq earlier this week, just a few days before he was due to return home.

His mother, Theresa Seeley, said yesterday she just found out her son was being promoted to sergeant in recognition of his dedication and hard work during two tours of duty in the country.

She called her son a true warrior.

"He fully believed in it (the war)," she said from her Fredericton home.

"He fully believed that people were being hurt who shouldn't be hurt and it was their job to protect them. He believed Saddam Hussein had to be stopped and that's what he did."

Seeley said her son prepared the family, including father Lorne and five siblings, for the possibility that he would not survive Iraq.

"He knew the risks," she said.

"He knew his job was dangerous. He always preached to me, 'Be ready if it does happen. If it doesn't, that's great, but be ready.' I would try to brush it off because you don't want to hear that from your children . . . but he would insist."

Seeley said her son's body was in Kuwait yesterday and was to be flown to Delaware for an autopsy.

The body will then be flown to New Brunswick, but funeral arrangements had not been finalized.

Since Canadian aboriginals have dual citizenship and are considered citizens of North America, there is a long-standing tradition of First Nations people crossing the border to join the U.S. military.

T.J. Burke, New Brunswick's newly appointed justice minister and the first aboriginal to be elected to the provincial legislature, is a former U.S. paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne based at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Aboriginal leaders say there is a strong attraction for young people from Canada's high-unemployment reserves to look to the U.S. military for a career.

Chief Terry Nelson of the Roseau River First Nation, near Winnipeg, said the U.S. military is more attractive than the Canadian Forces.

"The U.S. army treats you a lot better," said Nelson, an Ojibway.

"They're better equipped. I mean the Canadian army is not that well equipped. It kind of defeats the purpose of having a machine gun when you're only allowed a few bullets.

"In the States, you're well trained, and the spirit is different. It's difficult to find a Canadian flag on a Canadian reserve. But in the U.S., all of the American reservations celebrate the Fourth of July and there are flags everywhere."

From the Guelph Mercury

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