The mother of a Black Watch soldier from Fife is still seeking answers about her son’s death almost 10 years after his body was recovered from the River Tay in Dundee.
In an exclusive interview with The Courier, Catherine Kinnear, 59, who lives near Strathmiglo, said she remained “heartbroken” at the death of her son Gary and was no closer to knowing how he mysteriously went missing a month before his remains were found.
Gary Kinnear, a former Bell Baxter pupil who served with the 1st Battalion Black Watch on their first tour of Iraq in 2003, and his wife Michelle, had been drinking in a nightclub on St Andrews Street, Dundee, on November 1 2003 when he told her he needed some fresh air. He never returned to the club. Michelle went home and the next morning when Gary still had not returned, she contacted police.
Private Kinnear, who was 31, was due to join his regiment in Germany the following Wednesday. When he did not turn up for duty, the army posted him AWOL.
On December 5, police and RNLI were searching the Tay for an old lady missing in Dundee when they found his body.
Catherine said the body was so badly decomposed that they needed to check dental records. The post-mortem stated he had died by saltwater drowning.
She was told it appeared to be a “tragic accident”. But to this day Catherine, who no longer has contact with Michelle, said she still had no idea what happened.
Gary’s military funeral was held at Kirkcaldy Crematorium on December 16 2003 and his ashes were buried with his grandparents in Falkland Cemetery.
Catherine said she had recently been looking into whether or not he could have been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or Gulf War syndrome at the time of his death.
Revealing her son was opposed to the controversial 2003 invasion of Iraq, she added: “He was fit and healthy but when he came back from Iraq he was painfully thin.
“He got an anthrax injection before he went to Kosovo in the late 1990s and had to take a booster a few years later before going to Iraq.
“It’s only recently that I’ve been reading about Gulf War Syndrome and the alleged impact of the cocktail of drugs from inoculations. I didn’t realise they were pumping our boys with drugs like that.
“A lot of his pals were also killed. He was brought up in the country and to see bodies like that must have had an effect on their heads.
“I can’t prove what happened to my son, but I hope I can help other mums and dads so that they don’t have to go through what I’ve been through. I feel like I need answers. It’s coming up for 10 years.”