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N.B. WOMAN MOURNS SON KILLED IN IRAQ

November 01, 2006

 

 

 

The war in Iraq is no longer thousands of miles away for a

Theresa Seeley of Fredericton holds photos of her son, Cpl. Michael Seeley, who was killed in Iraq on Monday while serving with the U.S. army. Cpl. Seeley was supposed to return home last Saturday.

N.B. aboriginal killed in Iraq
November 1, 2006

HALIFAX (CP)

  A Canadian who was serving with the U.S. army in Iraq was killed by insurgents this week, just days before his return home.

Cpl. Michael Seeley, formerly of Fredericton, was on patrol with Bravo Co. of the 28th Infantry when he died Monday.

A Mi'kmaq, Seeley joined the Canadian Forces in 1998 before enlisting in the U.S. Marines the next year.

He served with the Marines in Japan, South America, Africa and Iraq before getting an honourable discharge after four years.

He then joined the U.S. army and was stationed in Fort Hood, Texas, when he was deployed to Iraq.
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War Cpl. Michael Seeley of Fredericton was serving with the U.S. army

Canadian Press
As published on page A2 on November 1, 2006

HALIFAX - A New Brunswick man who was serving with the U.S. army in Iraq was killed by insurgents this week, just days before his return home.

Cpl. Michael Seeley, 27, of Fredericton was on patrol south of Baghdad with Bravo Co. of the 28th Infantry when he died Monday.

Theresa Seeley, his mother, said Tuesday her son was supposed to return to the United States last Saturday but his stay was extended until Nov. 5.

The extra few days cost him his life.

"He prepared us but you kept thinking, he is going to come home this week, to stateside," she said in an interview in Fredericton.

A Mi'kmaq, Seeley joined the Canadian Forces in 1998 before enlisting in the U.S. Marines the next year.

He served with the Marines in Japan, South America, Africa and Iraq before getting an honourable discharge after four years.

He then joined the U.S. army and was stationed in Fort Hood, Texas, when he was deployed to Iraq.

Theresa Seeley said her son was dedicated to this profession to a fault.

"It's what he wanted to do and that is what he kept telling me," she said. "He said, 'If it ever happened, I died doing what I wanted to do.' But that doesn't help right now."

Seeley said she was informed of her son's death Monday night by the RCMP.

She said her son was on a training exercise with replacement troops who were being shown the ropes, such as what roads they should take.

"They were in a convoy and met a vehicle coming "... and they fired at them," she said. "By the sound of it, it was something big they fired and Michael was hit. I am not sure what it was (but) I know that he had on all his armour and his helmet."

Seeley said her son will be buried in Fredericton.

Betty Ann Lavallee, chief of the New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council, said she was proud of Seeley.

"Like so many young aboriginal men and women "... Seeley volunteered to serve without regard for what he was being asked to do," she said in a statement.

A total of 2,813 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq since the war started in 2003.

==

The war in Iraq is no longer thousands of miles away for a Fredericton family.

The conflict arrived on the doorstep of Killarney Road resident Theresa Seeley on Monday evening.

Police brought the gut-wrenching news that her son Michael Seeley, 27, a member of the U.S. Army, had been killed during an enemy attack south of Baghdad.

Cpl. Michael Seeley was a member of the 28th Infantry out of Fort Hood, Texas.

He was supposed to return to the United States on Saturday but his stay was extended until Nov. 5. The extra few days cost him his life.

"We talked about this before," Theresa Seeley said in an interview Tuesday. "He prepared us but you kept thinking, he is going to come home this week, to stateside."

Theresa Seeley said her son was dedicated to this profession to a fault.

"It's what he wanted to do and that is what he kept telling me," she said. "He said, 'If it ever happened, I died doing what I wanted to do.' But that doesn't help right now."

Theresa Seeley said she was informed of her son's death Monday at around 7 p.m. by the RCMP. He had been killed that afternoon.

She said her son was part of a patrol south of Baghdad on Monday. It was a training exercise with replacement troops being shown the ropes, such as what roads they should take.

"They were in a convoy and met a vehicle coming ... and they fired at them. By the sound of it, it was something big they fired and Michael was hit. I am not sure what it was (but) I know that he had on all his armour and his helmet.

"I am not sure where he was hit, or how he was hit; I only know he was killed."

A total of 2,813 U.S. servicemen have died in Iraq since the war started in 2003.

Michael Seeley's military career began early in life. While in high school, he joined the Canadian Army Reserves.

Following that, he planned to become a full-time member of the Canadian Armed Forces. But there were no positions available at that time.

So he took advantage of his native status and joined the U.S. Marines. He was originally a member of the Second Battalion Sixth Marine Gulf Company.

His time with the 28th Infantry marked his second tour of duty in Iraq.

"The first time he was over, he was with the Marines," his mother said. "When his four years were up, he joined the Army down there. He had a year in Korea and he got back from that; then he had a year in Iraq."

Theresa Seeley said her family has talked to the Department of Foreign Affairs and it has been in touch with its U.S. counterparts. The family will likely have to travel to Washington, D.C., to sign papers, she said.

The grieving mother said her son will be brought back to Fredericton for burial.

But she said she has no idea when everything will be straightened out.

Michael Seeley, a Mi'kmaq, was a member of the Eel River Bar First Nation near Dalhousie. The family later moved to Fredericton.

The Seeleys are known at St. Marys First Nation in Fredericton. Theresa Seeley attends the post-secondary education program at St. Marys.

St. Marys Chief Candace Paul said Tuesday the loss hits home.

"Where she is a student here, everybody has been touched by it," Paul said. "We'll definitely do as much as we can as another sister First Nation."
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U.S. SOLDIERS SALUTE FALLEN COMRADE

 November 07, 2006

 Daily Gleaner

U.S. military personnel salute Sgt. Michael Todd Seeley's casket as it is lowered from a plane to a waiting hearse at the Fredericton Airport Monday. Seeley was killed last Monday while serving in Iraq. His funeral will be held later this week. For the story, see page A3.

Fallen N.B. soldier's body returned home

War Michael Todd Seeley killed by Iraqi insurgents just a few days before returning home

Daily Gleaner

 

Michael Todd Seeley's mother, Theresa Seeley, right, is comforted as she watches the hearse carrying her son's body drive away Monday at the Fredericton Airport. Michael Seeley was killed last week in Iraq while serving with the U.S. army.

FREDERICTON - Tears and hugs marked the solemn arrival home Monday of the body of Michael Todd Seeley, who was killed last week while serving with the U.S. military in Iraq.

Family members watched in silence as his casket, draped in the flag of the United States, was unloaded at the Fredericton Airport just after 1 p.m. from a DC-9 aircraft.

"It's hard right now," said his mother Theresa Seeley, fighting back tears.

"It goes back and forth.

"I am strong one minute and not very strong the next."

Seeley, a sergeant, was killed by insurgents while on patrol in Iraq on Oct. 30, just a few days before he was due to return home.

He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Tex.

Seeley, a 27-year-old Mi'kmaq originally from the Eel River Bar First Nation, near Dalhousie, had dual citizenship and opted to join the U.S. military.

He had served with the U.S. Marine Corps before joining the U.S. army.

He is also a former member of the Canadian Forces Reserves.

Theresa Seeley said her family received calls over the weekend from her son's friends in Iraq, some of whom were with him when he was killed.

"It was nice hearing from them," Seeley said.

"They told me how upset they were by it.

"They told me about the memorial service they had over there and how touching it was and how many people Michael did touch."

Seeley said she has been informed that military investigators have arrested a woman in connection with the attack and that she will stand trial.

"You see the harshness in some of the men there, but you don't picture a woman doing something like this," Seeley said. "My image of a woman is a mother or a sister. How could they inflict that on someone?"

Seeley said she is "so very proud" of her son and how well he knew his job and how capable he was of performing it. He could have worked toward a higher rank, but he was content being with the soldiers on a daily basis, she said.

"He taught them more than the books can teach. A lot of time he gave them the knowledge and I am proud of that part."

Seeley said she has three sons who are all in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves.

"At this point, I can't say that I want them to go further," Seeley said. "But it has to be their choice."

Maj. Eric Noe, an American exchange officer serving with the School of Military Engineering at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, was at the airport Monday to receive Seeley's body.

Noe said it is his job to ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible for the family.

"It's tragic what has happened to him," Noe said.

"We certainly want the family to have every opportunity to grieve, because we grieve as well.

"I have spoken to several members of his unit and they all feel his loss tremendously."

Noe described Seeley's case as unique in that he represented both Canada and the United States and stood up for what he believed in.

As an exchange officer serving in Canada, Noe said he never thought he would find himself involved in the repatriation of a Canadian who had served with U.S. Forces in Iraq.

"I am honoured to do it. It is the right thing to do," he said.

Sgt. Keith Thomas was one of five Canadian soldiers at the airport to assist the Americans with the delivery of Seeley's body.

"It's a pretty solemn day," he said. "It's disheartening, but it's a fact of war, though."

Lieut. (Navy) Brian Owens, a public-affairs officer at CFB Gagetown, said the return of Seeley's body is being handled by the U.S. Army, although the base has offered to assist if needed.

Seeley's funeral will be held Thursday at 2 p.m. at Our Lady of Fatima Roman Catholic Church in Marysville.

More than 2,800 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq since 2003.

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Funeral held for Mi'kmaq soldier

FREDERICTON (CP) - The mother of a Canadian killed while on military duty in Iraq hugged the folded U.S. flag she was handed Thursday after it was removed from her son's coffin.

Theresa Seeley is comforted by U.S. Army Brigadier General Nick Justice at the burial of her son, Sgt. Michael Seeley, in St. Anthony's Cemetery in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, on Thursday.

   Tucked inside the flag were three spent rifle shells from  from volleys fired in Michael Seeley's honour during his burial in a cemetery overlooking the Saint John River. The shells stand for duty, honour and country. "The last shell was for country and I thought to myself there probably should have been two because he had two countries," said Theresa Seeley.

"He is peaceful. He fought for what he believed in. He did what he wanted to do. I'm really proud of him. There's nothing else I can say."

Seeley, 27, a member of the Mi'Kmaq First Nation, was killed in a bomb attack on Oct. 30 while on duty with the U.S. Army in Iraq.

He was one of more than a dozen Canadian aboriginals serving with U.S. forces in Iraq.

Seeley's funeral service honoured his aboriginal origins and his love of military service. 
 

Since Canadian aboriginals 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.

"Why do our people serve in the U.S. military? I think because we can," said G. Wayne Brooks from the St. Mary's First Nation in Fredericton.

"I think it represents a chance for adventure and travel."

Brooks handed out tobacco, which was sprinkled on Seeley's casket as an offering to his ancestors in the spirit world.

Seeley was the second Canadian-born soldier to die in Iraq in October, one of the worst months for U.S. military losses since the conflict began in 2003.

Marine Sgt. Jonathan J. Simpson, a dual Canadian and U.S. citizen, was killed in Iraq during combat operations on Oct. 14 and buried in Quebec, where he was born.

Seeley, a sergeant, was killed south of Baghdad when a bomb went off near his vehicle.

His mother said military investigators have arrested a woman in connection with the insurgent attack. She said she has been told the woman will stand trial.

"You don't picture a woman doing something like this," Seeley said.

"My image of a woman is of a mother or a sister. How could this woman inflict such suffering on someone?"

Seeley, who graduated from Fredericton High School, served with Canadian reserve forces before crossing to the United States to join the U.S. Marine Corps.

Following his time with the Marines, which included service in Iraq and Korea, he signed up with the U.S. Army and headed back to Iraq for a second tour of duty.

He was killed just a couple of days before he was due to leave the war-torn country.

Military officials from Canada and the United States attended the funeral.

Brig.-Gen. Nick Justice of the U.S. Army said Seeley's comrades described him as a good soldier who will be missed on the frontlines.

"Most of all, they remember him as a caring leader who always looked out for their welfare of others," Justice said.

"He was a great young man to have in our ranks."

Col. Ryan Jestin, commanding officer at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, said Canadian officers attended Seeley's funeral because the forces are "bands of brothers" who honour each other's losses.

But Jestin admitted it was difficult to attend the funeral, knowing that CFB Gagetown is about to send troops into action in Afghanistan.

"This is really close to home from the perspective that he is one of ours and we're about to send over 1,000 soldiers from CFB Gagetown into Afghanistan in the New Year," Jestin told reporters at the funeral.

"We can only pray we don't have to do this sort of thing very often in the New Year, but it does strike close to home."

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Funeral: 'He fought for what he believed in

Seeley was a 'great soldier

dailygleaner

November 10, 2006

 

Guns fired into the air and a soldier played the last post as the remains of Sgt. Michael Todd Seeley, 27, were lowered into the ground at St. Anthony's Cemetery.

In a moving gesture, Brig.-Gen. Nick Justice, the senior U.S. officer in attendance, presented the American flag that covered Seeley's casket to his mother Theresa Seeley.

"Sgt. Seeley was a great American soldier," Justice said in an interview. "He served both (of) these two nations very well and very gallantly."

Justice said he received several comments from Seeley's colleagues in Iraq, all of whom spoke glowingly about the character of their sergeant.

"He was a young man who was bright and intelligent," Justice said. "They remember him for his humour and his laughter and they remember him for his courage and his bravery. But, most of all, they remember him as a caring leader who was always looking out for those around him."

Theresa Seeley told reporters she appreciated receiving the U.S. flag. She was also given three shells, one of which was for her son's country.

"He fought for what he believed ... and did what he wanted to do," she said. "I am really proud of him."

Seeley, a 27-year-old Mi'kmaq, died Oct. 30 south of Baghdad from injuries suffered when a bomb went off near his vehicle.

He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, Tex.

His dual citizenship allowed him to join the U.S. military, where he had served with the U.S. Marine Corps prior to becoming an infantry soldier. He had also served in the Canadian Forces Reserves.

Earlier this week, Seeley was posthumously presented the Purple Heart, a U.S. military decoration awarded to members of the armed forces who have been wounded in action.

Seeley's three brothers, all reservists from the First Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (1RNBR), were joined by three of their colleagues in serving as pallbearers.

Family, friends and dignitaries, which included Lt.-Gov. Herménégilde Chiasson and Premier Shawn Graham, packed Our Lady of Fatima Roman Catholic Church in Marysville.

Rev. Maurice Swift talked about keeping the faith during difficult times.

"We know for certainty that life for Michael has not ended, but continues in another realm," Swift said. "... May he now be admitted to the company of saints."

Capt. Frank Nevin of the Grand Mi'kmaq Council performed a small ceremony near the end of the service that included chants and drums.

It was designed to help pave the way for Seeley to go to heaven, he said.

"I did the honour song for Michael," Nevin said after the service. "I also honoured the family and their soldier and warrior."

Col. Ryan Jestin, the commander of Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, said he felt it was important to attend the service because all military people are part of "a band of brothers."

"This is really close to home in the perspective that he is one of ours and we're about to send a thousand soldiers from CFB Gagetown into Afghanistan in the new year," Jestin said. "We can only pray that we do not have to do this sort of thing very often in the new year. "

The funeral's proximity to Remembrance Day also heightens the experience for people, he said.

"It's a tough road," Jestin said. "It not just from a perspective that he's an American soldier and I see the American flag draped over his (coffin), but it is also that this is part of our family - like everyone is who is wearing a uniform. We really hate to see somebody that dies doing what is the right thing, which is fighting the war against terrorism."

Premier Shawn Graham said Thursday was a sad day for the community but, at the same time, was reflective of the responsibility Canadians have.

Justice Minister T.J. Burke, an aboriginal who also spent time in the U.S. military, said the death of Seeley was a difficult thing for him to deal with personally.

"When you lose a member of your community, you lose a little bit of yourself," Burke said. "Mike Seley and I shared more than probably what a lot of people would realize. We both had service in the U.S. military. We've both been deployed."

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