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But as the first Canadian military veteran to do so publicly, Mr. Hillier caught the government off guard. Ottawa was wary, suggesting that Canadians moved by the plight of Syrians and Iraqis should join the armed forces or consider humanitarian work.

The public reaction was more positive. An online fundraising drive launched by Mr. Hillier’s brother raised $17,000, which he used to buy armoured plates and night vision goggles. “It was good to know that there were people back here that supported me,” he said.

Randy Hillier said there was a “very substantial outpouring” of support. After seeing Canadians traveling to the region to do “evil,” Dillon was a reminder of what Canadians really stood for. “I think it was a real eye opener for a lot of people in Canada that there was somebody going over who was quite the contrary.”

Among those who contacted the MPP was a father in the same situation. “I was approached by another dad, he believes his son is over there and we did endeavour to help locate him,” he said. “Knowing what his family would be feeling, we chatted with him a few times and Dillon put out inquiries to see if we could contact him.” But they could not find him.

Throughout his expedition, Dillon stayed in touch with his family. Not wanting to distract him when he was in danger, his father asked him to send a note whenever it was convenient. His father read up on Kurdistan but did not lobby his son to get out of Iraq.

“I knew Dillon. I was encouraging him to be alert and be aware, be safe,” he said. “I knew there were no words that I was going to use that were going to compel him or implore him to leave Kurdistan and get on the next flight,” he said. “I never wanted to take his concentration away if there was danger imminent. But Dillon would keep us informed and we chatted with him.” Eventually, Mr. Hillier and his American friend ended up serving under a General named Araz, who brought them to Daquq. “He spoke English, he was Swedish-educated and had been an Iraqi army general,” Mr. Hillier said. “He was a good guy.” The general used the two foreign vets for security. “Which was good because he would not hesitate to get out front.”