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http://www.timescolonist.com/Soldier+from+Victoria+killed+Afghanistan/2376497/story.html
A Victoria soldier who surprised friends when he joined the military to go to Afghanistan and help people was killed Wednesday by an improvised explosive device.
Lieut. Andrew Richard Nuttall was on a foot patrol near the village of Nakhonay about 25 kilometres southwest of Kandahar City when he was killed. Also killed was a soldier of the Afghan National Army and an Afghan interpreter.
Nuttall is the son of a prominent Victoria doctor and nurse, Richard and Jane Nuttall, who are involved with setting up medical clinics in Third World countries.
Friends remember a man who wanted to use his abilities to do the most good he could.
“He was the type of person who always put others first,” said Craig Patterson, a friend and the owner of Crossfit School of Fitness in Vancouver, where Nuttall previously trained and worked.
The avid athlete and former University of Victoria student was a member of the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton, which went to Afghanistan in October for a six-month tour. Their job is to work with soldiers and police of the Afghan National Security Forces to improve security.
It was Nuttall’s first tour, though he had been in the military for almost three years, Patterson said.
Friends remember him as a good-natured, happy person who wanted to help the people in Afghanistan.
Janine Armstrong, a friend of Nuttall’s from university, saw him at a wedding in Victoria in the summer. He walked in wearing his uniform, surprising many people there.
“He said there are so many places in the world that need help. He thought that by going to Afghanistan, he could make a difference,” Armstrong said yesterday. “He saw it as an opportunity to get in on the ground level and help people in a situation that a lot of other people won’t put themselves in. He said he knew it was something he could do. He wasn’t afraid.”
Nuttall kept a Facebook site and a personal blog where he gave periodic cheery updates from Afghanistan.
There are several references to improvised explosive devices, including one in which he wrote that he was making headway with locals and getting information about weapons and IEDs.
In a Nov. 15 update, Nuttall wrote that the soldiers were finding IEDs “like they’re going out of style.” He also refers to the group losing “two really good guys to IEDs.”
Both were friends, Nuttall wrote. Despite the loss, he says, “all of us here are very proud to be doing this, no one is doubting their decision to be here and all of us know how strongly we are supported by great people like yourselves back home.”
The most recent update was on Dec. 1, where he noted that his tour was being extended to mid-June.
“All of us here (including me) are not worried about this extension. We all believe in what we’re doing and an extra few weeks isn’t going to hurt anyone in the long run (as long as we maintain our vigilance of course),” he wrote.
That kind of comment doesn’t surprise Patterson, who said Nuttall could have had any number of careers that would have meant a much quieter life than the military.
“He always said, ‘That is just too easy.’”
Patterson had a long talk with his friend shortly before he left on the Afghanistan tour.
“He told me, ‘Patty, the infantry is my home and until I lead men into combat and see what I am made of, I won’t truly know who I am as a man.’”
It was as if Nuttall had to pick the hardest thing he could, Patterson said.
“It was like he knew he was capable of being a good leader and that if he knew that, he should do it. It was his duty.”
Other Islanders killed in Afghanistan include Miles Mansell, a reservist from Langford who was killed by an IED on April 22, 2006.
Cpl. Andrew “Boomer” Eykelenboom of Comox was killed Aug. 11, 2006, by a suicide bomber. The 23-year-old was a Canadian Forces medic.
kwestad@tc.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist
http://www.timescolonist.com/Soldier+from+Victoria+killed+Afghanistan/2376497/story.html
A Victoria soldier who surprised friends when he joined the military to go to Afghanistan and help people was killed Wednesday by an improvised explosive device.
Lieut. Andrew Richard Nuttall was on a foot patrol near the village of Nakhonay about 25 kilometres southwest of Kandahar City when he was killed. Also killed was a soldier of the Afghan National Army and an Afghan interpreter.
Nuttall is the son of a prominent Victoria doctor and nurse, Richard and Jane Nuttall, who are involved with setting up medical clinics in Third World countries.
Friends remember a man who wanted to use his abilities to do the most good he could.
“He was the type of person who always put others first,” said Craig Patterson, a friend and the owner of Crossfit School of Fitness in Vancouver, where Nuttall previously trained and worked.
The avid athlete and former University of Victoria student was a member of the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton, which went to Afghanistan in October for a six-month tour. Their job is to work with soldiers and police of the Afghan National Security Forces to improve security.
It was Nuttall’s first tour, though he had been in the military for almost three years, Patterson said.
Friends remember him as a good-natured, happy person who wanted to help the people in Afghanistan.
Janine Armstrong, a friend of Nuttall’s from university, saw him at a wedding in Victoria in the summer. He walked in wearing his uniform, surprising many people there.
“He said there are so many places in the world that need help. He thought that by going to Afghanistan, he could make a difference,” Armstrong said yesterday. “He saw it as an opportunity to get in on the ground level and help people in a situation that a lot of other people won’t put themselves in. He said he knew it was something he could do. He wasn’t afraid.”
Nuttall kept a Facebook site and a personal blog where he gave periodic cheery updates from Afghanistan.
There are several references to improvised explosive devices, including one in which he wrote that he was making headway with locals and getting information about weapons and IEDs.
In a Nov. 15 update, Nuttall wrote that the soldiers were finding IEDs “like they’re going out of style.” He also refers to the group losing “two really good guys to IEDs.”
Both were friends, Nuttall wrote. Despite the loss, he says, “all of us here are very proud to be doing this, no one is doubting their decision to be here and all of us know how strongly we are supported by great people like yourselves back home.”
The most recent update was on Dec. 1, where he noted that his tour was being extended to mid-June.
“All of us here (including me) are not worried about this extension. We all believe in what we’re doing and an extra few weeks isn’t going to hurt anyone in the long run (as long as we maintain our vigilance of course),” he wrote.
That kind of comment doesn’t surprise Patterson, who said Nuttall could have had any number of careers that would have meant a much quieter life than the military.
“He always said, ‘That is just too easy.’”
Patterson had a long talk with his friend shortly before he left on the Afghanistan tour.
“He told me, ‘Patty, the infantry is my home and until I lead men into combat and see what I am made of, I won’t truly know who I am as a man.’”
It was as if Nuttall had to pick the hardest thing he could, Patterson said.
“It was like he knew he was capable of being a good leader and that if he knew that, he should do it. It was his duty.”
Other Islanders killed in Afghanistan include Miles Mansell, a reservist from Langford who was killed by an IED on April 22, 2006.
Cpl. Andrew “Boomer” Eykelenboom of Comox was killed Aug. 11, 2006, by a suicide bomber. The 23-year-old was a Canadian Forces medic.
kwestad@tc.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist