The father of Capt. Matthew Dawe said his son died in Afghanistan while taking part in a mission he was firmly committed to, despite the fact he also felt "betrayed" by some of the people he was trying to help.
Peter Dawe, a retired lieutenant-colonel, said Wednesday that his son had previously expressed his frustration with the mission after the loss of three soldiers under his command in a June 20 roadside bomb attack.
The elder Dawe said in phone conversations following that attack, Matthew expressed frustration and anger over the guerrilla war-like tactics his men had to face while trying to help the people of southern Afghanistan.
"So Matt felt a betrayal . . . by the very people he was supposed to be helping," Dawe said at a press conference at CFB Kingston in eastern Ontario, while sitting next to his wife Reine and Matthew's wife Tara.
"He was out and about and among these people every day. And it's not everyone. Some of you may have seen an interview with Matt where he talked about Tier 1 and Rier 2 terrorists -- he would be referring to the ones that are farmers by day and Taliban killers by night.
"And that's what's particularly frustrating about this mission: it's a guerrilla war and you really don't know who your enemy is."
Tara Dawe said while she mourns the loss of her husband and the father of her two-year-old son, she still supports the mission and the "boys overseas."
She had this message for the troops: "All I ask of you is to stay focused, stay safe, and come home proud of the job you've done.
"I have lost the love of my life and the father of my child, and nothing can be said or done to change that. But a moment like this would have made Matt proud, and that's going to help me to heal."
Capt. Matthew Dawe, 27, was one of six Canadian soldiers who died along with an Afghan interpreter when their armoured vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb on July 4. He died on the day of his son Lucas's second birthday.
Dawe, who was based in Edmonton with the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, came from a prominent military family in Kingston. Three of his older brothers all enlisted with the Canadian Forces. Two of them also served in Afghanistan in 2002.
Peter Dawe stressed that despite his son's frustrations, at no point did he say he was losing hope. He said his son often spoke of the dedication and intelligence of the men and women he was serving with.
"These people are not glory hunters. These people are there wrestling with why they're there. And I think it's because they come to the realization that they're doing it for Canada -- that there is an honourable purpose to it. It's Canada paying its dues in the world."
Matthew's mother Reine said the young officer who brought her son home said the last mission they went on in Afghanistan was her son's initiative.
"So he wasn't sitting back, waiting to come home. Typically of Matt's conduct, he was working until the end, and until the day that he was going to leave," she said at the news conference.
"The overall feeling that I got from Matthew was that he was there because he had signed on for a job, he was going to do it, and he was going to do it until the end."
With a report from The Canadian Press
