Michael T. Seeley killed by I.E.D.

The Canadian killed Monday in an attack south of Baghdad was a dedicated soldier and well aware of the risks of his job with the U.S. Army in Iraq, his mother said Wednesday.

When they drove to the airport to say goodbye, Cpl. Michael Seeley would try to prepare his family for the worst, Theresa Seeley said in an interview with CBC News from her home in Fredericton.

"He'd say to me, 'You know mom, what my job is. I will be going and I will be fighting and it's very dangerous. And the chances of my getting hurt or killed are great. And you have to know that this is what I want to do. This is my life, and this is my job, and know that if it happens, I go doing my job.' "

Despite that, Seeley said she still believed it was a mistake when the RCMP officers turned up at her door Monday evening to give her the news that Michael was dead.

She describes him as a sports fanatic, who loved to mountain bike and race.

"I always thought his sports would kill him, I never thought the war would kill him. He knew his job. He was well trained and he took great pride in his training. I really thought he would come home."

From the CBC