By ANDREW HANON, QMI AGENCY
EDMONTON - Pte. Richard Vass figured he'd see his friend Cpl. Darren Fitzpatrick soon.
"We thought he was out of the woods," he said, blinking back tears.
Fitzpatrick, 21, was "grievously wounded" on March 6 when an IED exploded while he was escorting military trainers and their Afghan security force trainees in a rural area outside of Kandahar.
The blast left him with massive trauma to his lower body.
The Prince George, B.C., native died two weeks later in Edmonton, the 141st Canadian casualty of the Afghanistan mission. It was his first tour of duty.
Within hours of the explosion, Vass and Fitzpatrick's other buddies in the 3 PPCLI at Edmonton Garrison received word that their friend had been wounded. But they had also heard that he would be sent to the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, as soon as he could be transported.
Once he'd healed enough, they assumed, Fitzpatrick would be brought back to Edmonton.
Fitzpatrick arrived home on Friday, 13 days after the explosion, but died the following day at University Hospital. He was surrounded by his parents, Jim and Colleen, and his two brothers.
Military officials declined to discuss details of Fitzpatrick's injuries, but on Tuesday the battalion's commanding officer praised the "heroic" efforts of medical personnel on three continents that allowed him to spend his final hours with his family.
Lt.-Col. Peter Dawe said he met with Fitzpatrick's parents, who expressed thanks to everyone, from the "courageous and expert" soldiers who performed first-aid in the field, to the doctors in Kandahar, Germany and Edmonton, "who played a part in keeping their son alive for as long as they did, which ultimately gave his parents and his brothers the opportunity to see Darren and communicate with him before he passed away".
Choking back his own grief, Dawe described Fitzpatrick as "a prototypical infantry soldier."
"Darren, or Fitz, as his army buddies called him, was a former high-school football centre," he said. "He was a big, strong, kind-hearted young man who loved the outdoors and was a consummate team player".
Cpl. Cole Prier, who's been friends with Fitzpatrick since they were basic training together in 2006, said, "he was great for morale. He was very good at what he did. He always knew what he was doing and I learned a lot from him".
Prier remembered the day his friend found out that he was shipping out to Afghanistan.
"He was very excited," he said. "He was always talking about going overseas to do our job".
But Fitzpatrick also knew how to break tension. Grinning at the memory, Prier recalled, "he liked to play around, especially if he had a towel in his hand. He could snap that thing like nobody's business".
Cpl. Bryan Sorensen said he and Fitzpatrick became good friends almost as soon as they met.
They had so much in common. Both were from B.C. They had the same taste in music ("the heavier stuff"). Both loved riding ATVs and snowmobiles.
"Right away we clicked," he recalled.
In the close quarters of military life, camaraderie is critical. His buddies said Fitzpatrick understood that and helped build team spirit.
"I never really knew what a true friend was until I started meeting people in the military," said Sorensen. "The brotherhood is the greatest experience, and no one's going to replace Fitz for me".
In a written statement, Fitz-patrick's family said, "Darren will be missed terribly by his family, friends and many people who loved him and were fortunate enough to have known him in this life. Despite our grief, we are immensely proud of Darren as such an incredible young man".
A public funeral will be held at St. Joseph's Basilica in downtown Edmonton at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Toronto Sun
