Carolyn Dyer "No matter what the situation, Ainsworth was able to do much more than make you laugh," his sister Carolyn said, holding back her tears. "He was able to make your heart dance.

"I could never be more honoured that he is my brother. I could never be more proud that he is my hero."


(Carolyn Dyer)

Dyer's sister Suzette Wright, 31, said it was difficult not to feel angry about the circumstance of her brother's death. "He should never have died the way he died. If he had died fighting (the enemy) we could have grieved a different way," Wright said.

"I loved him very much. I knew he loved me," his mother said. "I didn't know how I would get the strength to hold on through this day, but when I see how much he was honoured, how much he was respected, I'm very, very proud of him."

Dyer's family, friends and colleagues celebrated his exemplary, but short, life and mourned for his lost hopes and dreams; the engineering degree he hoped to pursue while continuing to serve in the military; the beautiful fiancee, Jocelyn Van Sloten, he planned to marry and start a family with.

(Ainsworth Dyer and fiancée Jocelyn Van Sloten)