Posted on 07/12/2006 6:50:08 AM PDT by Clive
TORONTO - In a statement drafted with the help of military officials, the father of Canada's latest war casualty yesterday took aim at recent portrayals of his son as a poorly trained reservist who was bitterly unhappy in Afghanistan and questioned Canada's role in that country.
Anthony Boneca Sr., whose son, Cpl. Anthony Boneca,0 was killed in a weekend gunfight with Taliban insurgents, called the 21-year-old reservist a committed, well-trained soldier who "knew what he was getting into."
"My son volunteered to go to Afghanistan," Mr. Boneca said in the five-paragraph statement, issued on military letterhead. "Certainly, Anthony wanted to come home, but I ask what soldier wouldn't in that situation?"
In recent days, people close to Cpl. Boneca have said the Thunder Bay native hated his work in Afghanistan and questioned the military's preparedness for the mission. One friend, Dylan Bulloch, said the young man known for his boundless energy had lately complained of being overworked, confiding in him that "no one wants to be there and no one knows exactly why they're there."
The father of Cpl. Boneca's girlfriend, Larry DeCorte, questioned the wisdom of putting reservists on the front-line. "Mentally they weren't ready for hand to hand battle and all this other stuff," he said.
Mr. Boneca dismissed those concerns yesterday.
"In all my conversations with my son, there was never any mention of him not being well enough or fit enough to carry out his military duties," he wrote. "Anthony knew he was part of a group that stuck together to do what they were sent to do. He said it was difficult to cope with the weather, the sand, and the situation the young children endured. He was proud to make a difference in their lives."
Despite his father's efforts to downplay the doubts raised in recent days by people close to Cpl. Boneca, the issues have garnered significant media attention. Observers believe that is because they are the first public show of dissent from a Canadian soldier serving in Afghanistan.
A military spokeswoman yesterday said officials did not attempt to shape Mr. Boneca's statement, despite the potentially damaging effects on public support for the mission.
"We don't influence the family on what to say or what to respond to," said Katie McLaughlin, adding a public affairs officer travelled to the northern Ontario city yesterday to assist Mr. Boneca with the statement.
"It's completely up to them. We're just there to provide the means to be able to get to the media because it's obviously not something that the average person has access to."
Contributors to the discussion forums at the pro-defence website army.ca yesterday characterized Cpl. Boneca's negative comments as a means of dealing with the intense pressure of front-line combat. One contributor called the complaints "normal army bitching."
"Most of us, myself included, have said allot (sic) of not so well intentioned things due to the stress of being so close to 'quitting time'," wrote another poster, armybuck041.
Cpl. Boneca was less than three weeks away from finishing his second six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.
"The biggest lesson we as soldiers need to take away from this is how we project ourselves and our experiences to the members of our families waiting on the homefront," armybuck041 continued.
Meanwhile, friends and neighbours in the tight-knit community where Cpl. Boneca was raised continued to tour through the family home, determined to pay respects to the former high school quarterback who was described by friends as a kind-hearted and outgoing young man.
"The neighbourhood is wrecked," said Mr. Bulloch, Cpl. Boneca's best friend and a fellow reservist.
Six members of the military, most of them from Cpl. Boneca's Thunder Bay reserve unit, spent a large part of the day inside the family home located in a middle-class subdivision along the city's northwestern edge. They included a pastor, an assisting officer who will help the family wade through military bureaucracy and the public relations specialist.
The men and women helped Mr. Boneca sketch out some initial plans for his son's full military funeral, expected to take place Monday.
They also made plans to transport Cpl. Boneca's family and that of his girlfriend, Megan, to Canadian Forces Base Trenton, where the soldier's remains are expected to be repatriated in a solemn ceremony tonight at 7 p.m.
In a significant move, Mr. Boneca requested that journalists be granted limited access to the ceremony. The Conservative government banned public access to repatriation ceremonies in April, but later reversed the decision, leaving it up to the families to decide whether the service would be open or closed.
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'He was proud to make a difference in their lives'
Anthony Boneca Sr. issued this statement yesterday to the media through the Department of National Defence.
Our pride was in our son before and after he became a professional soldier. He was a giving person. He was a leader. He was the kind of person who was always joking and liked to make others around him happy. Anthony was the first to volunteer in any situation.
My son volunteered to go to Afghanistan. Anthony knew what he was getting into. He loved being in the army and my wife, Shirley and I, supported our son whole-heartedly. In all my conversations with my son, there was never any mention of him not being well enough or fit enough to carry out his military duties.
Recent media reports state that my son may not have been prepared. His conversations with my family and me indicated he was well aware of the dangers around him and was committed to the test he had taken on. Anthony knew he was part of a group that stuck together to do what they were sent to do. He said it was difficult to cope with the weather, the sand, and the situation the young children endured. He was proud to make a difference in their lives and said he wished these children could live like we do in Canada.
Certainly, Anthony wanted to come home, but I ask what soldier wouldn't in that situation? There is no question about the extent of his military training. I know he was well prepared for what he was sent to do.
Please respect my family's request for privacy during our time of grief.
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Go away you brainless Leftist appeaser.
show me a soldier anywhere that doesn't complain..they all do, but for the most part, the vast majority know why they're there and know the job they're doing keeps their families HERE safe..
IMHO this is an attempt by the MSM to force their message down the throats of people regardless what the person closest to the situation thinks..
RIP Anthony Boneca, most recent in a long, long list of Canadian Heroes. And Thankyou for your sacrifice.
Please send me a FReepmail to get on or off this Canada ping list.
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