CBCNews -- The Canadian killed Monday in an attack south of Baghdad was a dedicated soldier and well aware of the risks of his job with the U.S. Army in Iraq, his mother said Wednesday.

When they drove to the airport to say goodbye, Cpl. Michael Seeley would try to prepare his family for the worst, Theresa Seeley said in an interview with CBC News from her home in Fredericton.

"He'd say to me, 'You know mom, what my job is. I will be going and I will be fighting and it's very dangerous. And the chances of my getting hurt or killed are great. And you have to know that this is what I want to do. This is my life, and this is my job, and know that if it happens, I go doing my job.' "