The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Mother of fallen soldier thanks students for support By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF 3 · Wednesday, June 2, 2010 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com The mother of a Canadian soldier who died in Afghanistan visited the students at St. Dominic Catholic Elementary School to thank them personally for the support she has received from them. Carol Mitchell, from Owen Sound, visited the school Tuesday, June 1. Her story is a tragic, but proud one. At times fighting back tears, she spoke of her son, Corporal Robert James Mitchell, who died serving his country in October of 2006. What attracted her to the school was the support she received from its Grade 7 history students. For the past five years, the students have been creating posters and writing letters to the families of fallen Canadian soldiers. When her son died, she received a poster and letter, and, again more recently, she received another one from a student this year. "I know that this was a project," Mitchell said, "but I also know there was heart behind this." Teacher John MacPhail, who conducts the history classes, created the project. He has been running the project for those five years, and other similar ones, to teach students in ways that a textbook cannot. In 2007 he received the Governor General's award for excellence in teaching Canadian history. "I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for supporting the troops, but also for supporting me," she said. The year Robert died, her youngest son, Mark, also died of cancer, which was a very difficult time for her and her family. "I didn't give up," she said. "What's really helped us is the armed forces becoming part of our MICHELLE SIU / OAKVILLE BEAVER THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT: Carol Mitchell, mother of fallen Canadian soldier, Corporal Robert James Mitchell, holds up a poster while thanking Grade 7 students at St. Dominic elementary school on Tuesday for their tribute posters to her son. family." To this day the family stays involved with the army through things such as attending graduation ceremonies for soldiers. Also helpful, she said, was the support she received from the students. "It helped me see that my family wasn't forgotten and that you "I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for supporting the troops, but also for supporting me." Carol Mitchell, mother of fallen soldier, Corporal Robert James Mitchell. n guys were there thinking about it," she said. She spoke of her son, saying he loved Canada and joined the militia when he was 16. She was not surprised by his enlistment. "He loved the armed forces because, he told me once that, people in the armed forces are there to protect him and his country and he wanted to protect them." Robert had three children who are now 5, 6 and 9 years old. Carol told the students that Canadian soldiers don't have to go to war, they go by choice. Just before his deployment, Robert told his mother how proud he was and how much he loved his life in Canada. He also told his mother that he didn't believe he would return home. She tried to convince him not to go. "He said, `I've had the best training that we can have, I have the best officers and I'm never alone. The other guys are my brothers and they always have my back and if I don't come home, it's not the army's fault. . . I just want you to know as much as I love you, I love my country.'" Her son was a gunner on a Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle. He was fatally wounded during an insurgent attack while his unit was defending a road construction crew. He died later in hospital. Carol showed the students pictures of her son and the base in Afghanistan including a picture of a sunset taken the day before her son died. One picture showed her son and a fellow soldier in front of a truck they were unloading. When her son died, that soldier called home and left a message for his father. "I got to listen to the message later," she said. "He said, `Dad, my best friend was killed today and it's broken my heart.'" That soldier was killed two days later. She encouraged the students to support the Canadian troops by wearing red or wearing special pins on Fridays. The assembly also had delegates and speeches from the local provincial and federal representative offices and from the Town. DIABETIC PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY (DPN) PAIN A Clinical Research Study of an Investigational Oral Medication for people with Hand, Foot, or Leg Pain caused by Diabetes - Related Nerve damage You may be eligible if you are at least 18 years of age and have: Been diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes Controlled blood sugar levels for at least 3 months Experienced signs or symptoms of painful DPN Moderate to severe pain in the hands, feet or legs that has not been relieved with over-the-counter or prescription pain relievers for at least 3 months Study medication, medical evaluations and ce visits will be provided to to qualified study participants at no cost. Study medication, medical evaluations and offioffice visits will be provided qualified study participants at no cost. It is is 5 month study with 14 14 office visits andfollow up phone call. It a a 5 month study with offi ce visits and 1 1 follow up hone call. NOW OPEN FOR ENROLLMENT OAKVILLE'S ORIGINAL BOOTCAMP Enlist today! INDOOR & OUTDOOR FITNESS TOTAL BODY CONDITIONING 1-877-927-5469 For more information, please contact: River Oaks Community Church 2435 Munn's Avenue East 5:30am and 6:30pm Small Class Sizes Ensure Guaranteed Results 905.808.4055 www.survivorbootcamp.com