Cpl. Matthew Dinning

[Bronzesnake]

The following is from an article in the Toronto Sun newspaper...

RICHMOND HILL -- Cpl. Matthew Dinning was killed doing what he believed in -- fighting for democracy, his grandparents say.

Dinning, 23, was one of four Canadian soldiers killed Saturday when their vehicle was struck by an explosive device in Afghanistan.

"Matthew firmly believed everyone should have freedom in their own country, so he was passionate about his work," Dinning's maternal grandmother, Rhelda Stockall, said yesterday.

The family saw Matthew off at CFB Trenton in January when he was deployed to Afghanistan.

HIS CHOICE
 

"As a grandmother, it's scary to see your grandson go off to war. That was his choice, and we had to go along with it. I hope some good can come from the work Matthew was doing," she said.

Dinning joined the military three years ago after taking police training at Westervelt College in London.

"He wanted to go into the military to be a policeman. That was his wish ... to help with democracy. He was a very caring boy and wanted to try to get (the Afghan) people better living conditions," said Dinning's grandfather Jim Stockall.

"His father (Lincoln Dinning) is an OPP officer and had been to Kosovo as a peacekeeper. He (Matthew) wouldn't have joined the military if he wasn't a policeman. It was his background."

COMMITTED

Stockall knows his grandson's death will be fuel for those Canadians opposed to Canada's involvement in Afghanistan, but his family is committed to the mission.

"Canada wants other countries to be free," he said.

Stockall isn't offended that the flags on Parliament Hill aren't at half staff. "They have never done that for any other war. Maybe it's something we should think about initiating country-wide," he said.

On Saturday, the Stockalls gathered with family to mourn Dinning in Wingham, 60 km north of London.

"The house was filled with kids who knew Matthew. He went to hockey school when he was young and then became a hockey counsellor for three summers. He loved hockey and loved kids," Stockall said. "He was great with kids and would have wanted a family."