Highway of Heroes Too Busy

It's never the right time to hear about the passing of our Canadian soldiers but it's always harder to learn of this news at this time of year.

Three more Canadian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, bringing the total lost to 103 since the mission began six years ago.

These loses never become any easier and the families of those lost have an even tougher reality to deal with.

Cpl. Thomas James Hamilton, Pte. John Michael Roy Curwin and Pte. Justin Peter Jones, based at CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick, were killed by a roadside bomb (IED) in the morning as they were responding to reports people were planting a suspicious object west of Kandahar city.

I hope to make it down to the local base where the bodies of these men will be flown to for a repatriation ceremony prior to making their way along the Highway of Heroes to Toronto.

I have seen far too many soldiers return home in this fashion but I can only hope that these will be the last to return this way.

I do, however, feel a sense of pride when I see the number of average Canadians who come out to pay their respects to the soldiers and their families at this time of tragedy. Along the entire route from the base in Trenton all the way to Toronto, people line the highway and stand quietly on the bridges to show their respect and to say thank you for giving their lives in defence of their country.

I was recently surprised to see an American television network news program do a story on the Highway of Heroes. This NBC report took place on Veterans Day / Remembrance Day.