Young students remember the sacrifice of Scarborough soldier

Young students remember the sacrifice of Scarborough soldier. Private Demetrios Diplaros' mother Kathleen Smith, left, Corporal William Oakman and Corporal Daniel Avery pay their respects to the fallen soldier during a Remembrance Day ceremony at Grey Owl Junior Public School on Wednesday. Private Diplaros, a 1996 graduate of the school, died serving in Afghanistan in December 2008. Photo/SARAH DEA

Demetrios Diplaros was in Afghanistan to free people from poverty, war and corruption, Cpl. William Oakman told students this week at Grey Owl Junior Public School.

"He helped pave the way for children such as yourselves to enjoy the lives that you enjoy today."

Staff of the Malvern school, which Diplaros last attended in 1999, say he was a well-liked, respectful boy - a "young hero" the community now misses, teacher Emmanual Peter Ragobeer added during special Remembrance Day ceremonies there.

Young Demetri "would always come to help me shovel snow or rake leaves outside at recess," said Ragobeer, who never guessed the lad with the "sweet, innocent smile" would later join the Canadian Forces.

"I see now that this was an ideal choice for him."

Devoted to video games, hockey and taekwondo - he paid for some lessons by teaching until he earned a black belt with a yellow stripe - Diplaros found time to walk his five sisters to the school.

The eldest, Martha Ruccia, said her brother joined the army four years ago "because he wanted to help. He would do anything to help people."

Demetrios, 24, didn't talk much to his family about Afghanistan, and took only a picture of her son Eric, 3, as a reminder of home. He wanted to join a police force one day.

Instead, he is counted as the 100th Canadian soldier killed in the Afghanistan war, dying with two others on Dec. 5 from an improvised explosive blast.

On the first anniversary of his death next month, Ruccia said, his family will light candles for Diplaros at a Scarborough cemetery and celebrate his life.

"It's not fully, fully hit us that he's gone," she added later.

More than a dozen members of the Royal Canadian Regiment joined Diplaros' family in Grey Owl's gymnasium, which was covered with Remembrance Day poppies and paintings the children had made.

Pte Nicholas Persad signed up for the army with Diplaros - sincere, always smiling - and remained with him through training. On four-hour weekend carpools between Toronto and Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, Diplaros talked religion and politics, but was always first to fall asleep, Persad recalled. "Can't get rid of the grin from his face."

Oakman told the assembly Diplaros - who graduated from the now-shuttered Timothy Eaton Business and Technical School - was "the type of person who would always drop whatever he was doing just to help you out" and tried explaining to the children what a "sacrifice" means.

Earlier, he said just the presence of the soldiers standing tall and saluting would make a good impression on young students. "Words will be secondary to the impact the guys are having here today."

Diplaros's mother Kathy Smith laid a wreath at the front of the room before the Last Post was played, saying afterwards the ceremony shows "how much Toronto cares about my son and the boys going overseas to fight for what we have in countries that don't have it."

His aunt Darlene March, said Diplaros, who never judged anyone harshly, "found the positive" even in returning last November to duty in Afghanistan he knew was dangerous. He told her he was going, she said, so her children "can live in a free world. So they don't have to live in war. That was the last thing he said to me."

Anargyros Diplaros served in the Greek army but said he isn't certain why his son joined up in Canada, although, "I remember him so many times saying, I want to be like you, Dad. He was a good kid."

Time will tell if the sacrifice of Canadian lives makes a lasting difference in Afghanistan, but when abuse and violence is seen in the world, "somebody must step in and stop that," the elder Diplaros said.

"It's really worth it, what they're doing there."