Slain soldier was 'far from ordinary,' says mother
Last Updated: Friday, September 29, 2006 | 12:55 PM CT
CBC News
The mother of a soldier who was killed in Afghanistan earlier this month said Friday that he was a caring man who truly believed he was helping people overseas.
Cpl. Keith Morley, who was from Winnipeg, was one of four soldiers killed by a suicide bomber on Sept. 18.
Della Morley, mother of Cpl. Keith Morley, who was killed in Afghanistan, reads a statement to reporters Friday morning before his private service.
"In many ways, he grew up an average Canadian boy, but he was far from ordinary," Della Morley said to reporters outside the family home before a private memorial service in the afternoon.
She said her son was someone who deeply cared for his family.
"Children were drawn to him. He could so easily have been one of them. He loved his dog … and laughed at his puppy antics. Keith always found the perfect gift for each and every one of us."
Cpl. Keith Morley (in undated handout photo) was among four Canadian soldiers killed in a suicide bombing on Sept. 18.
Morley, as well as Pte. David Byers, 22, and Cpl. Shane Keating, 30, was with the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based in Shilo, Man.
Funerals for Byers and Keating were also scheduled for Friday, in Ontario and Saskatchewan respectively.
The attack that claimed their lives also killed Cpl. Glen Arnold, who had been stationed with 2 Field Ambulance based out of CFB Petawawa northeast of Ottawa.
Morley's casket returned to Winnipeg on Sept. 23 on what would have been his 31st birthday.
Della Morley said her son first expressed interest in joining the Armed Forces in junior high school. Before going to Afghanistan, he served two tours in Bosnia, in 2001 and 2003.
"He served his country with pride and certainty that missions there and in Afghanistan would better the lives of the people in those troubled nations," she said.
Keating's funeral was also scheduled to take place Friday, in Saskatoon.
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