One of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo's childhood friends says he will keep the slain reservist's family in his thoughts Thursday, on the anniversary of the deadly attack on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
Cpl. Ryan Weinberger says he has many "fond memories" of growing up with Cirillo in Hamilton, Ont., where the two were part of a close-knit group of friends in high school. Weinberger joined CTV's Canada AM on Thursday to reflect on the life of Cpl. Cirillo, who was fatally shot by an armed gunman in Ottawa last year, on Oct. 22, 2014. Cirillo was 24 years old.
"Whenever I think about Nathan, his family's always close at mind," Weinberger told Canada AM. "I think about all of them."
Weinberger and Cirillo grew up together, and spent a lot of time at each other's houses, building forts and shooting paintball guns at one another in the forest. "It was a typical childhood," Weinberger said, adding that he also has great memories of the Cirillo family. "His mother Kathy would make these awesome Italian dinners," he said.
Weinberger said it took Cirillo some time to decide what he wanted to do with his life, but the two of them eventually joined the military while they were in high school together, and became reservists with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, in Hamilton. Cirillo was "moving towards his dream" with the Canadian military, and started to emerge as a leader after his son was born, Weinberger said.
"As he got older, especially toward the end of his life, he was stepping into a leadership role," Weinberger said. "It was great to see that, because I think that being a father was starting to awaken some of his leadership potential, which would have been his passion full-time."
Weinberger's Hamilton-based regiment will be part of the ceremony honouring Cirillo in Ottawa on Thursday, and for Weinberger, that'll be an opportunity to reflect on the loss of his friend.
"It means a lot to me to kind of represent some healing for the family," Weinberger said.
He added that he feels proud of what Cirillo has come to symbolize, in the year since his death. "I think he really stands for something good for our country," Weinberger said.
