2002-2008 Highway of Heroes Tribute

I have put together a slideshow of photos I've taken since 2002 covering our fallen heroes return.  The first photo I took was in Port Hope when approximately 30 people came out to a bridge simultaneously to show their support for the families and as a way to honour the first four fallen soldiers in 2002.  The pictures are from the repatriations at CFB Trenton, the three ridealongs I've done along the Highway of Heroes, and from various bridges along the way.

For Cobourg Daily Star photographer Pete Fisher, shooting a procession taking the remains of a Canadian soldier along the Highway of Heroes was a way to honour all the fallen soldiers and their families.
One of those photos has been recognized with an Edward Dunlop Award for spot news among Sun Media journalists and photographers.
He also won honourable mention in the same category for a photograph of the gunpoint takedown of a suspect by police in a local Tim Hortons outlet.
The Dunlop is not the first award in his 20-year career, Mr. Fisher said, but it’s the most prestigious.
Mr. Fisher said he hopes his grandfather, who opened a photo studio in Cobourg many years ago, would have been proud of his work — especially for the photographs that he takes on the Highway of Heroes.
Mr. Fisher has been present at many of the Highway of Heroes processions, as well as at some repatriation ceremonies in Trenton for the Canadian soldiers who have died in Afghanistan.
“Every time I go to Trenton, I shed a tear,” said Mr. Fisher, who said it’s hard not to be moved by the sacrifice paid by members of the military.
Mr. Fisher was a driving force in having the stretch of Highway 401 from Trenton to Toronto designated the Highway of Heroes.
“The soldiers are the reason it’s there, but it’s the support of the people that made it happen,” he said.
The Dunlop awards are given annually to Sun Media journalists, and honour the founding president of the Toronto Sun newspaper, Edward A. Dunlop.
— Shelby Parker

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I've decided to group stories/photos involving the Highway of Heroes to make it easier for people to view.  Although I've tried to make this page as simple as possible and in the order that it happened, the pages may not be.

From tragic times, come proud moments.  A video documenting the Highway of Heroes by CBC

"Highway of Heroes"

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May 28/07 Fallen Soldier - Highway 401 Cobourg

June 15/07 Fallen Soldier - Hwy 401

June 20/07 Funeral for Trooper Darryl Caswell - Bowmanville

June 24/07 Three Fallen Soldiers pass through Port Hope

July 8/07 Fallen Soldiers Return Home - Cobourg

July 07 50 Bridges - Highway of Heroes

August 22/07 Fallen Soldier - Port Hope

August 26/07 Fallen Soldier - Grafton

September 2/07 Fallen Soldier - Trenton

September 6/07 Highway of Heroes Unveiling of Sign - Quinte West

September 7/07 Highway of Heroes Official Dedication - Port Hope

September 7/07 Cobourg trucker honours Canadian soldiers

September 10/07 Highway of Heroes Shields - Port Hope

November 11/07 Remembrance Day - Cobourg

January 2/08 - Fallen Soldier Returns - Highway of Heroes

January 9/08 - Fallen Soldiers Return - Highway of Heroes

January 27/08 - Fallen Hero Comes Home Cobourg

March 6 - Fallen Soldier Returns Home - Highway of Heroes Cobourg

March 14 - Fallen Soldier Returns Home - Highway of Heroes Cobourg

April 8 - Fallen Soldier Returns Home - CFB Trenton

May 9 - Fallen Hero Returns Home - A Journey Along the Highway of Heroes - Trenton to Toronto

May 29 - Dedication for Trooper Darryl Caswell held in Bowmanville

May 31 - Red Rally from Trenton to Toronto

June 6 - Fallen Soldier Returns Home - CFB Trenton

June 11 - Highway of Heroes - Grafton

July 9 - Fallen Soldier Returns Home - CFB Trenton

July 22 - Fallen Soldier Returns Home - CFB Trenton

August 23 - Highway of Heroes - Cobourg

September 6 - Three Fallen Heroes Come Home - CFB Trenton

September 10 2008 - Fallen Soldier Returns - CFB Trenton

November 11 2008 Rememberance of the Highway of Heroes

December 7, 2008 Fallen Soldier Cpl. Mark McLaren Remembered Peterborough

December 7, 2008 Story of Wayne McVeen Attending Bridges

December 8, 2008 Ridealong the Highway of Heroes for three fallen soldiers

December 13, 2008 Funeral for Cpl. Mark McLaren in Peterborough

December 16, 2008 Three Fallen Heroes Repatriation at CFB Trenton

December 30, 2008 Highway of Heroes - Port Hope

January 10, 2009 Fallen Heroes Repatriation at CFB Trenton

March 6, 2009 Three Fallen Heroes Repatriation at CFB Trenton

March 14, 2009 Funeral for Warrant Officer Dennis Brown in St. Catharines

March 23, 2009 Repatriation for four fallen heroes and journey along Highway of Heroes

April 2, 2009 Major Michelle Mendes (Knight) funeral/memorial in Kingston and Grafton

June 11, 2009 Highway of Heroes Port Hope/Cobourg

June 17, 2009 Highway of Heroes Port Hope/Cobourg

July 6, 2009 Repatriation at CFB Trenton for fallen hero

July 9, 2009 Repatriation at CFB Trenton for two fallen soldiers

September 9, 2009 Repatriation at CFB Trenton for two fallen heroes

October 3, 2009 Highway of Heroes Cobourg

November 10, 2009 Highway of Heroes Painting - Castleton

December 28, 2009 Repatriation at CFB Trenton for fallen hero

January 3, 2010 Repatriation at CFB Trenton for four fallen heroes and journalist

Soldier has fighting spirit
It's not often you get a chance to meet someone who is truly inspiring.
I did for a brief moment Friday.
Joe Warmington from the Toronto Sun was doing an article and needed a picture of Master Cpl. Jody Mitic, who was passing through this area on his way back to Petawawa from a doctor's appointment in Toronto.
For anyone who doesn't know who Master Cpl. Mitic is, just do a Google search, and sit back and read stories about him or listen to his interviews.
On January 11, 2007, he and other soldiers were on patrol in Afghanistan. Three other soldiers walked through a door, then it was his turn. From what I've read about it, it was just another "routine" patrol. But, for Master Cpl. Mitic, one step would alter his life forever.
He stepped on a landmine that three other soldiers had missed.
Both of his legs had to be amputated just below the knee.
When I talked with Master Cpl. Mitic by phone Friday, he'd just passed Cobourg, but was going to turn around at the next exit to meet me here.
By the time, I reached Division Street he'd already gotten off Highway 401 and was at Tim Hortons.
I had never met him but when I pulled into the coffee shop, I saw this large pickup parked in a handicap spot. Two magnetic Support The Troops ribbons were on the truck's tailgate and a metal trailer hitch bore the word 'Army.' I soon caught a glimpse of Master Cpl. Mitic and introduced myself.
But, he didn't have a wheelchair, I thought. He didn't look "handicapped."
I thought the best place for pictures would be the Division Street overpass above the Highway of Heroes.
Because there are no sidewalks and very little room on the bridge, I phoned the Cobourg Police to ask if a police cruiser could meet us on the bridge for a blocker.
They graciously obliged and Constable Brent Allison met us on the bridge within 10 minutes.
I introduced the soldier to Constable Allison.
We talked for a few moments overlooking the Highway of Heroes.
I thought it was amazing to witness how far this soldier has progressed in one year.
Both legs had been amputated from stepping on a landmine in Afghanistan and one year later, he's standing on a bridge.
The soldier said he made a decision while in the hospital bed to walk once again - and he did.
Master Cpl. Mitic spoke of others who have had other limbs amputated, but have not progressed as much as himself.
And one year later, he's driving down the Highway of Heroes from a doctor's appointment - amazing.
A short time later, Constable Allison and Master Cpl. Mitic shook hands and we left to take pictures at the nearest on-ramp with the Highway of Heroes shield in the background and then we were done.
But before I said goodbye to Master Cpl. Mitic, I asked him if he could stop by Cobourg again when we both had more time. I know there are people I've met standing on bridges in tribute to fallen soldiers that would like to meet Master Cpl. Mitic. I would have liked to have had more time with him. I'd like to invite him down to one of the town's watering holes.
For that brief moment I met the soldier, I think I learned a lot about him.
I learned that although he has two artificial limbs, his spirit, is alive and well.
He still has the heart of a warrior and if there is any way possible, he will return to the battlefield.
There was one other thing I learned Friday. It is not only fallen heroes who travel along the highway that is named in their honour.

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January 2, 2008

After a long journey on Wednesday, I sat down to watch the 11 p.m. newscast.
On this day, I rode along with an OPP officer who was leading the procession from CFB Trenton
to Toronto along the Highway of Heroes.
The repatriation ceremony began at 2 p.m. for Gunner Jonathan Dion who was killed on
December 30, 2007 by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.
To many times I’ve covered the story of a soldier killed in Afghanistan returning home.
From local bridges I’ve watched as hundreds of people line the bridges of Northumberland
County. At CFB Trenton I’ve witnessed family members weep as their loved ones come home
for the last time.
I’ve watched strangers stand side by side on bridges to offer their condolences to the families as
they pass under bridges along the Highway of Heroes.
So after a long day on the highway I watched the Toronto newscast to see the repatriation
services from CFB Trenton that I attended earlier in the day.
But what I thought would be the lead story, wasn’t.
Oil prices, the weather, the upcoming election in the United States, and pot holes in the city were
put ahead of a fallen Canadian soldier returning home on the television station I turned too.
I was and am disgusted.
The story of the 75th Canadian who gave his life for his Country has become just another story for
media outlets.
I remember in 2002 when the first four soldiers were repatriated, television stations carried the
service live from CFB Trenton.
But now, a story on pot holes seems to be more pressing for the media.
At least one thing I can say that I know to be true.
To the thousands of people that stood on bridges along the Highway of Heroes on Wednesday,
the story of how a Canadian hero who volunteered to serve his Country and loved his job, was
first and foremost on their minds, even if it wasn’t in the eyes of the news editors with some
Toronto television stations.
 

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January 2, 2008
On Wednesday the Cobourg Daily Star had the honour of riding along the Highway of Heroes
with the lead police car for the procession of Gunner Jonathan Dion.
Gunner Dion was 27-years-old and a member of the 5th Light Artillery Regiment based in CFB
Valcartier, north of Quebec City.
He was killed on December 30 when the vehicle he was riding in hit an improvised explosive
device 20 kilometers west of Kandahar City.
It marked the 74th Canadian soldier killed in action since 2002.
Whitby Detachment Highway Safety Division OPP Sgt. Harry Carrigan has been involved with
every repatriation ceremony along Highway 401 since 2002 except for one.
He is up for retirement later this year and will be turning over his duties to another officer who
will be taking charge of duties involved with leading the procession along the Highway of
Heroes.
During Wednesday’s procession, Sgt. Carrigan spoke of previous trips he has made along the
route and spoke of how he believes the Highway of Heroes is the most patriotic thing this
Country has done in the last 25 years.
Sgt. Carrigan recalled during one procession a police helicopter was flying overhead along
Highway 401 during the night and radioed to ask if they could use their high powered light, to
light the bridges up to show the numbers of people standing to honour their loved ones.
CDS:How had this changed since the processions started in 2002?
Sgt. H.C.:Originally Port Hope and Cobourg were the only two (bridges) of any significant
involvement.
They seemed to always have somebody out there. In the beginning very small groups, but now
they’ve grown.
From there it goes right through until the last overpass at Don Mills.
CDS: What does it mean to you?
Sgt. H.C.:It’s a great patriotic thing for me. I’m ex-military and I can appreciate what the
families are going through, though nobody can imagine what they are going through.
I do have a handle on why we need to recognize these soldiers. They need to be raised on a pedal
as heroes because they are. Our military is strictly volunteer and these are volunteer men and
women.
These are young men and women who have actually volunteered to go to a strange country and
fight for freedom for all of us. For them to lose their life in fighting for freedom for us - we have
to get together to recognize them.
CDS:What do you think about seeing the people standing on the bridges?
Sgt. H.C.:Canadian unity. Seeing them waving the Canadian flag, being proud of the Country
they belong to.
There are many ethnic groups, not just true blue Canadians.
It’s sad to know that these young people have lost their lives and what the families are going
through, it’s also pride in the fact that we live in such a great Country.
CDS: Do you think this helps the families?
Sgt. H.C.: It definitely helps the families. We get many emails and letters of commendations
from the families. They are just overwhelmed. Lately with the Royal Canadian Van Doos, we
have had letters from those French Canadian families who have had nothing but sheer pride in
seeing what people are doing for their young ones.
CDS: Were you surprised to see the number of people on the bridges today (Wednesday) in
minus 11 weather?
Sgt. H.C.: I didn’t expect there would be that many given the weather. However it just goes to
show you how patriotic some people are. It’s their way of honouring the soldiers that absolutely
deserve it.

My thoughts...
For people that wonder if they are scene by the family and members of the procession along
Highway 401, I can tell you in one word - yes.
If anyone has ever wondered if it is worth traveling to the bridges to brave the weather for that
few seconds a procession passes by - it is.
As a member of the media, sometimes we are allowed to do special things.
On Wednesday I was allowed to do a very special thing.
I rode along with Whitby Detachment Highway Safety Division Sgt. Harry Carrigan along the
Highway of Heroes and covered the repatriation of Gunner Jonathan Dion.
I’ve covered the procession along the Highway of Heroes many times along with the repatriation
service at CFB Trenton.
As I’ve wrote previously, wherever you are, it’s a very moving experience.
At the base it was unbelievably cold with the wind whipping across the tramac.
The family of the fallen soldier was brought out and stood by as the flag drapped casket was
lowered from the belly of the Airbus 310.
Most times I’ve attended a piper is heard, but on this day a bugler played Amazing Grace.
Once again, for me the reality of it all kicks in when I witness family members walk up to the
hearse. A mother’s anguish of her son coming back home. Never seeing him again, spending a
Christmas with him. It’s incredibly sad.
After the service Sgt. Carrigan and myself got in our black and white OPP cruiser. We were the
lead cruiser in the procession of approximately 10 vehicles that would take us to Toronto.
On the way down to Trenton from Whitby OPP Detachment, Sgt. Carrigan commented that he
didn’t expect to many people on the bridges because of the -11 degree weather.
As we left the base, we both knew he was wrong.
As we left the base a lone Military Police officer stood at attention, then as we made our way out
to County Road 2, Legion members were the first ones we saw standing at attention saluting.
Then, members of the 1st Canadian Army Veterans, followed by civilians. Fathers, mothers,
grandparents brining their children.
While traveling along the back roads to Highway 401, Sgt. Carrigan pointed out numerous
people along the roadway. One family who has always stood by the road in front of their home
with their children.
And as we approached the highway, officers had intersections closed to allow the procession to
go through.
As we turned left onto the on-ramp, members of the Quinte-West Fire Department stood at
attention by their firetrucks.
Sgt. Carrigan said the one of the hardest parts is getting all the cars in the procession on the
highway in unison. Previously for the procession for six soldiers traffic was stopped along the
highway because there were over 20 vehicles.
Along the journey, there were memorable bridges for me in Northumberland County.
The fire departments, police, paramedics, and Legion members were all at various bridges along
with many civilians on this blustery cold day.
I remember seeing just two people on one bridge holding a Canadian flag. I thought on other
occasions I’m sure there were many others, but the two people standing there spoke volumes.
As we entered Cobourg, seeing an OPP and Cobourg police officer standing side by side on the
on-ramp at Country Road 45.
Near the Wesleyville overpass, a snow plow on the bridge along with two people holding
Canadian flags.
As we made our way into the city, bridges, on-ramps, packed with people. People in both
directions pulled over wanting to catch a glimpse of the procession. It is an amazing thing to
witness.
When we hit the Toronto border we were met by members of the Toronto Police Service.
They took over leading the procession and OPP officers backed off. Unfortunately this
procession has been done so many times, that everything falls into place and knows what to do.
At every single on-ramp in the city that lead to the express lanes, Toronto Police officers had
every on-ramp closed letting the procession have a clear road ahead.
On the Don Valley Parkway it was the same, every on-ramp shut down by the Toronto Police
until the procession went by and exited at the Bayview Avenue, Bloor Street exit.
At the intersection, two people holding a Canadian flag right outside the subway station. And
through the streets of Toronto, once again, paramedics, firefighters and police officers stood at
attention.
Sgt. Carrigan and I spoke a lot during this trip, and one thing he said wanted to convey to the
people standing on the bridges whenever a fallen soldier comes home - you are making a
difference, and it’s appreciated.

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After just bringing home our new addition to our family, I was very touched to see Joe Warmington had written this in today's Toronto Sun.   Very grateful to Joe for all he has done to help change the rules that will hopefully honour Chris with the Cross of Valour.  Canadians, police associations, police officers, and people from literally around the world all helped makes this happen.   I hope to hear news sooner, rather than later, that Chris will be honoured with what he so rightly deserves.

Toronto Sun
December 15, 2007
Joe Warmington
There are very few victory days for reporters. But it happened for Pete Fisher this week.
The scribe and photographer from Cobourg is like a dog with a bone when he's on something and the governor general's office found that out when they put up roadblocks and bureaucracy while he was trying to get murdered Cobourg cop Chris Garrett the much deserved Cross of Valour.
They'd shut the door on Pete and he'd go through the chimney. Perseverance. You can't stop that kind of guy and I laughed when I saw him in this picture this week in a private meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has changed the silly rules of this award, which will ensure Garrett gets his due. I suspect those playing petty games at Rideau Hall didn't see that coming.
Good old fashioned doggedness prevails once again. Important lesson for aspiring reporters. When they block you, go around 'em. But that's not Fisher's best news of the week. His wife, Deb, gave birth to tiny Mary Natalie, a new sister for 5-year-old Corby. Nice to see a reporter win every once in a while -- especially a good one like Pete Fisher.
Now that's a nice story to enter the weekend on. Enjoy yours. Scrawler out!

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Amazing tribute to the Canadian soldiers

A young man with dreams of a life fulfilled
Talks of engineering, flying and adventure.
There are midnight beers with friends and family
And many conversations about the meaning of life’s work.

His talents are numerous, everyone says….
A natural leader, a level headed young man,
No challenge abandoned, no watered down purpose or response.

The many choices, the many possibilities
Roll and roll in his head.
Then, with strong determination,
A decision is made.
And in his wide-eyed youth, he steps on foreign soil,
Having merely skimmed the depths of life’s complexities and emotions.

He looks ahead to living
Pride and family
Love and hate
Duty and remorse
Humour and fear.

In a flash, he becomes an observer of life around him.
In an unforgiving land, a lifetime of anticipated exploration is in cinders.

He speaks…no one hears
He cries out…no one consoles
He reaches out to touch….no one responds.
He is alone…for a short while…..

For, on the journey home,
There are proud Canadians who recognize the loss of a life unfulfilled.
They stand by the hundreds to momentarily share the pain, the sorrow, the grief, the emptiness,
To momentarily acknowledge and thank a hero.

The young men who no longer talk of engineering, flying and adventure are never alone on the Highway of Heroes.
May they rest in peace.
May the world find peace.

Madeleine Thibault-Smith, Cobourg – November 2007

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April 2007

I’ve lived in Cobourg for my entire 43 years and I’ve never more proud of this community as
Sunday evening.
Earlier on I covered repatriation of Master Cpl. Allan Stewart and Trooper Patrick Pentland at
CFB Trenton.
The two soldiers were the latest casualties killed in Afghanistan by a roadside bomb.
On Friday, a ramp ceremony was held at the Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan.
On Sunday evening, military aircraft touched down at CFB Trenton at 6:30 p.m.
Because of the rain, for the first time, families of the soldiers stood under the bay doors at the
terminal.
One by one, the flag covered caskets of the soldiers were lowered from the plane into the arms of
the comrades.
A bagpiper played, while soldiers stood at attention and family members wept.
You see it on television, but it’s another thing to experience it.
It is sad beyond words.
I have been to one other repatriation ceremony - it doesn’t get any easier to witness.
Living along the 401 corridor, people are coming out to show their support for the fallen soldiers
families by standing on bridges along the route. People holding flags, waving.
After the service the media are allowed to leave shortly after the procession leaves the base.
I wanted to track, the route, follow behind and experience what it would be like.
Along the way from the base, police had the route blocked off, so the procession could smoothly
enter Highway 401.
I followed the procession from approximately a half mile back from Trenton to Burnham Street
in Cobourg.
As sad as the service is in Trenton, the one home was filled with pride to be Canadian, and to be
from this community.
On the way back, cars traveling in the east were pulled over as a sign of respect - cars flashed
their headlights. I think people were trying anything to let the families know they were not alone
in this time of sorrow.
People were on bridges starting in Colborne and continuing right through to Port Hope and
beyond.
At Lyle Street in Grafton was the first time I witnessed a Canadian flag.
An OPP officer was pulled to the side of the road standing at attention as the procession went by.
At the Gully Road, Nagle Road over pass in Alnwick/Haldimand Township, there were more
people standing in the rain with Canadian flags.
When the procession passed, County Road 45 overpass, a silhouette of a police officer standing
at attention while the emergency lights on his vehicle lit up the area around him.
It was only one person standing on that bridge, but it spoke volumes.
Then heading west, rounding the slight bend and seeing the bridge of Ontario Street was an
overwhelming feeling of pride.
A sea of people lining the bridge from one side to the other. The entire bridge was covered in red
and white. It was beautiful to witness. And the families I’m sure saw it. And beside the bride in
lights, was the sign saying Cobourg. There were more people on that bridge than I witnessed in
Trenton standing outside the base.
And for those people standing on bridges along the path of the procession in the rain, getting
soaked by the steady downpour for that brief moment while our fallen soldiers, and their families
pass by our community it was an awesome feeling to witness it passing by.
On Sunday evening I have never been so proud to be from this community and I only hope that if
ever another fallen soldier does come our way, we will be there for their family again.

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August 24, 2007

It’s official!
The stretch of Highway 401 between Trenton and Toronto will now be known as the Highway of
Heroes in honour of Canada’s fallen soldiers.
“We’re going to do it,” exclaimed Minister of Transportation Donna Cansfield speaking with the
Cobourg Daily Star..
Ms. Cansfield was at a caucus retreat spoke shortly after the Premier held a media scrum
announcing the decision.
“The Premier wants this done, and done right away,” said Ms. Cansfield.
“I think it’s wonderful.”
“Everytime you go down the highway and a child asks about the sign - they learn. It’s a living
legacy.”
CTV has said the highway will not lose it’s official designation as the MacDonald-Cartier
Freeway, but signs designating the route Highway of Heroes will be erected along the route from
Trenton to Toronto.
Ms. Cansfield said everyone at the retreat said positive things about the name designation.
Members of the Provincial Government will now be consulting with members from two legions
groups working on the proper signage for the highway.
It’s expected the unveiling of the signs will take place at C.F.B. Trenton.

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September 2006

In an exclusive in-depth interview a Canadian soldier serving in Afghanistan tells his story of
fighting overseas.
His story is raw, graphic, and very real.
Port Hope resident Cpl. Brock Vigon, age 29 is recovering from wounds he sustained in a
friendly fire strafing in September by a U.S. warplane which left one soldier dead and 36 of Cpl.
Vigons fellow soldiers wounded.
Cpl Vigon was married in July to his wife Erin Greenwood from Port Hope.
They have a baby on the way.
For now, Cpl. Vigon is recovering from his wounds at his in-laws house in Port Hope. He spoke
in detail about the war in Afghanistan and his two tours of duty.
Cpl. Vigon was born in Toronto and ever since he can remember he has wanted to be in the
military.
“My grandfather was in the British army and my other grandfather’s brother was in WW II and
died when he was torpedoed on his minesweeper.”
In 1999 he joined the Canadian Forces Reserves and in 2002 joined the regular force with the 1st
Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment. Charlie Company, 8 Platoon known as the Crazy 8's.
He is stationed in Petawawa. Cpl. Vigon and his wife have just recently bought a house there.
Cpl. Vigon is a gunner in a L.A.V. (Light Amoured Vehicle) and has a number of weapons at his
disposal.
During patrols he sits inside the vehicle, and looks at screens for the enemy. With a flick of a
switch he can change from a 25 mm Bushmaster automatic weapon (with shells the size of a beer
bottle) to a 7.62 mm machine gun. He also has inside a rifle, 9 mm pistol and grenades.
The first time he went to Afghanistan was in February 2005. He stayed till August at Camp
Julian in Kabul and said it was a peace keeping mission at that time.
In his second tour in 2006 he packed on the weight because of the Afghan Diet - the heat.
Cpl. Vigon described the weather as, “pretty frickin hot,” reaching temperatures of up to 50
degrees Celcius.
But when he went back on his second tour he knew it would be completely different.
“We knew this was going to be a combat tour and the other one was a Peacekeeping tour.”
“We knew we were going to Kandahar and that is where a large portion of the Taliban resides.”
And from the reports they got from the Americans, they knew they would see combat.
“We pretty much took over the American ground troops because they got sent to Iraq.”
So Canadian troops were the main fighting force in Kandahar.
Cpl. Vigon said he was only there for one week before getting a taste of battle in Afghanistan.
“The first time we experienced anything, me and my buddy were walking up to the phones at
Kandahar Air Fields (K.A.F.) so he could call his girlfriend and I could call my wife.”
“As we were on our way up there we heard a bang then a whine,” said Cpl. Vigon.
“And you saw this red streak fly through the air and land in the camp and exploded.”
It was a rocket fired by the Taliban from the mountains.
“We just kind of looked at each other and continued walking.”
The alarm went off shortly after and the two went to the bunker.
Another time they were mortared in a Forward Operating Base (F.O.B.).
“We were smokin and jokin and the mortar bombs started dropping around us.”
But his first experience of returning fire came at night when his convoy was traveling on Ambush
Alley.
“Everytime we go on this road we get ambushed.”
Cpl. Vigon said he was the second vehicle in the convoy with a G-wagon in front. The weapon
on top of the G-wagon was a 50 cal. machine gun.
“All of a sudden you hear the thuds of the rounds hitting the side of the LAV and you could see
them.”
“I see the guy in the G-wagon stand up and starts firing,” said Cpl. Vigon.
“So I traverse over (using the turret) to the left and I’m looking through my thermal (to look for
the enemy)..
“I’m not seeing anything through the thermal (heat seeking sight that Cp. Vigon looks through
mainly at night) so I look through the daysite (similar to a rifle site) and I see the muzzle flash. I
adjust on that with my thermal and I opened up.”
“As I was traversing over (moving his turret on top of the LAV), my crew commander was
standing up so his head is above the turret so he can look around and see everything. As soon as
the rounds started flying he came down. His head set popped off and he was yelling something
but I had my headset on so I couldn’t hear him. As I looked over to see him I saw tracer rounds
and an r.p.g (rocket propelled grenade) fly over top (of the LAV).
So I pretty much said “fuck this.”
“I traversed over to the enemy, found him within a fraction of a second, hit the gun arm switch
and started firing away.”
And that was Cpl. Vigon’s “first kill.”
He knew it was because with the size of rounds he was using the enemy doesn’t just fall to the
ground. He literally explodes.
Then came Operation Medusa which commenced on September 2, 2006.
To warn residents that N.A.T.O. forces would be entering the town and attacking the enemy,
leaflets were dropped for approximately a week prior to the launch of the offensive.
Operation Medusa was a Canadian-led offensive by major elements of the International Security
Assistance Force and Afghan National Army. It’s goal was to establish government control over
an area of Kandahar Province centered on the town of Panjwayi some 30 km west of Kandahar
city. The area around is mainly small farming villages in the valley of the Arghandab River.
On the morning of September 3, Cpl. Vigon and a number of other troops headed out on a
mission that would alter the course of his life, and end the lives of five Canadians.
The troops weren’t using the main roads because of I.E.D.’s (Improvised Explosive Devices) and
bobby traps.
For extra measures there were two bulldozers ahead of the convoy to clear a path for greater
safety.
“We hadn’t scene anybody in awhile and we thought this is a waste of time.”
Cpl. Vigon said he knew the “higher ups” weren’t happy that it was taking longer than
anticipated to get to the town of Panjwayi.
In Afghanistan, people build mud walls around houses, much like picket fences in Canada. But
since wood is a scarce commodity, the Afghans use mud.
Cpl. Vigon pulled his L.A.V. closer to one of the mud walls.
“Right when we got six feet in front of the mud wall that’s when the shit hit the fan.”
“We started receiving heavy enemy fire.”
Cpl. Vigon said it was everything from machine gun fire to rocket propelled grenades.
And the worst thing is, it didn’t stop.
“It wasn’t like an ambush where they fire just a bit then run away. They were defending this
town.”
The enemy was in buildings, on rooftops, and in nearby marijuana fields.
“Everybody opened up and we fought.”
Cpl. Vigon had his top hatch open in his L.A.V. and he could hear bullets zipping across the top.
“They are called the angry bees because that’s what they sound like.”
“You could hear them hitting the LAV.”
At one point the enemy was firing at the Canadians by the mud wall only six feet in front of Cpl.
Vigons vehicle.
“I pretty much squeezed the trigger and pretty much blew the wall apart.”
“Then I started firing a z-pattern into the marijuana field with 25 mm and 7.62 machine gun.”
This was the worst combat Cpl. Vigon had faced in his military career.
“We just pretty much shot at everything and everybody.”
The fighting lasted hours.
Tragically four Canadians were killed and six wounded during the offensive.
All the men who were killed were based in Petawawa.
Warrant Officer Frank Mellish, age 38 (was Cpl Vigon’s Warrant Officer).
Another platoon’s Warrant Officer Richard Nolan, age 39 was killed.
Sgt. Shane Stachnik, age 30 (2nd Combat Engineer Regiment)
Pte. William Cushley, age 21. (1st Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment.)
The soldiers pulled back to the Casualty Collection Point to re-group, then pulled back further
near the mountains.
“We pretty much took the rest of the day off because we lost four guys. And they were awesome
guys.”
The soldiers were mentally and physically drained. But not defeated. Cpl. Vigon said
throughout that day, he got himself ready to go back in the next morning, “because we wanted
payback.”
Approximately 45 soldiers re-grouped and camped overnight preparing for another battle.
But the troops would never fire a shot at the enemy on that day.
Just as Cpl. Vigon and other soldiers were getting up around 5 a.m. they were hit be a three
second burst of gunfire by a United States A-10 Warthog, commonly known as a tankbuster.
It has one of the most fiercest weapons in the air for combat.
The gun is so powerful it can only fire in a dive, said Cpl Vigon.
It if fires anything longer than a 10 second burst the gun is so powerful it will actually push the
plane backwards.
The shells are 30 mm Gatling gun and fires 50 rounds per second during the first second, then 70
rounds per second.
“I lit up a cigarette and said wouldn’t it be nice to have some bacon and eggs right about now and
that’s when everything on the left side of me just exploded.”
“It happened so fast I didn’t hear the plane.”
“As soon as that happened I just took five steps into a run and dove down the side of the
mountain beside the L.A.V.”
Cpl. Vigon couldn’t breathe because he got the wind knocked out of him.
He regained his senses and put his hands on the L.A.V. to help get his breath back.
“Then I saw another buddy and I asked him if he was alright and he said he was fine and he
asked me if I was alright and I said, yeah I’m good.”
He walked a few steps and felt like he was going to pass out.
“So I hopped in the back of the LAV and got a bottle of water just to sit down and let my heart
rate slow down. I took a drink of water because my mouth was really dry. This was all within a
couple of seconds.”
He went outside the LAV and looked to see if he could help anybody.
The scene looked like Armageddon.
“People were screaming,” said Cpl. Vigon.
“You see people screaming, crying.”
“They are all on the ground, some are sitting up holding their wounded areas. Others are covered
in blood lying their screaming. Others are trying to crawl to their vehicles in shock.”
“In three seconds, three quarters of my platoon was NS (not serviceable).”
When he went to help the injured, he felt a sharp pain in his back.
He reached around with his hand around to feel why.
“So I looked at my hand and it was covered in blood.”
“I pretty much just said, fuck.”
Cpl. Vigon lit up a cigarette and knew he was going into shock because his mouth was getting so
dry.
His crew commander made eye contact with him and asked if he was ok.
Cpl. Vigon said, “I’m good, I’m good,” as he looked at the crew commander who had his face
covered in blood because of a shrapnel wound to the forehead.
Another soldier appeared as the dust began to settle from the brief but deadly attack.
The Crew Commander told him to help Cpl. Vigon because he was hit in the chest.
“I got a bottle of water in one hand and a cigarette in a bloodied other hand and I look down and
on my left side see a hole the size of a golf ball in my combat shirt.
Because the troops thought they were safe from fire, no one was wearing their combat vest or
helmet because we were sleeping behind the LAV’s and nothing was supposed to happen.
So with the help from another soldier, Cpl. Vigon’s shirt was cut off.
“I could see the layer of skin, I could see a layer of fat, and then I could see the muscle, then I
could see my rib and then I could see beyond my rib.”
Cpl. Vigon recalled saying at the time, “ok, I’ve seen enough of that.”
“You don’t need to see your rib and beyond that.”
Cpl. Vigon then noticed other shrapnel wounds on his arms and legs.
The sizes ranged from the diameter of an orange to a pencil.
He still has four pieces of shrapnel in his left arm, two in his back, one in his right butt cheek,
one in his leg.
He also suffered third degree burns to his leg.
As Cpl. Vigon was walking over to the Casualty Collection Point, one of the Master Cpl.’s
noticed that he had a piece of shrapnel sticking out of his back..
So he stopped and the Master Cpl. tried to pull it out.
“He said are you feeling this, and I said no I’m not feeling a thing. So he left it in because it
mushroomed inside the skin.”
When he got to the C.C.P. he sat down and blood was visible coming through his pant legs.
“They wouldn’t let me look at my leg because it was pretty bad where it severed the tendon and
the quadricep.”
When he was in K.A.F. (Kandahar Air Field) hospital a nurse counted 16 shrapnel wounds.
Total damage from the brief friendly fire incident. One soldier killed and 36 brave men scared
for life from the friendly fire incident.
Pte. Mark Graham (age 33) 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment was killed and 36
Canadians were wounded when two United States A-10 Warthogs accidently strafed the
Canadian forces.
Pte. Mark Graham (age 33) was from the 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment.
He was also a member of the 1992 Canadian Olympic team in the 4 x 400 metre relay team.
Pte. Graham was just six feet away from Cpl. Vigon when they were strafed.
Because you don’t leave anything behind, Pte. Graham was standing near a fire and Cpl. Vigon
had just thrown garbage into the fire where Pte. Graham was standing.
“I had actually just went over there and threw some bags of (empty) water bottles and rations in
and I said (to a friend) wouldn’t it be nice to have some bacon and eggs and that’s when we got
strafed,” said Cpl. Vigon.
As it turns out, some of the soldiers did hear the jet and it barreled in on their position.
But Cpl. Vigon said it wasn’t unusual to see because the A-10's had been making runs through
the town for days.
“Even seeing it from far away (while fighting previously) I remember saying to the guys, fuck I’d
hate to be those bastards in that path. The damage it does is absolutely unbelievable.”
Cpl. Vigon thinks the pilot realized he made a mistake that’s why the soldiers didn’t get a full
burst of gunfire.
“He realized he made a mistake and took his finger off the trigger. A full burst would have
probably killed us all.”
“You go from one minute seeing all your buddies who you laugh and joke with all the time to
within a fraction of a second seeing people very vulnerable, hurting - all your buddies.”
Because of his chest injuries, Cpl. Vigon was one of the first people airlifted from the scene in a
Black Hawk helicopter.
He chain smoked for the 15 minutes it took for the helicopter to arrive at the scene.
“I never lost consciousness at all,” said Cpl. Vigon.
He remembers being loaded into the helicopter and having Pt. Graham beside him.
“I remembered the one pilot said take him off, he’s dead. Put someone else on that needs
medical attention.”
Shortly after he was flown to a nearby operating room.
“Before I knew it I was lying naked on a stretcher in an operating room. Everywhere around my
bed there was somebody standing looking at my wounds.
And then he was put under anaesthetic.
He woke up in a room full of his fellow soldiers.
“I’m all messed up because of the morphine and I’m looking at myself and the bloods coming
through my bandages.”
The nurse would change his bandages periodically, but nothing was sewn up. For large wounds
he said they have to heal on their own at the beginning to prevent infection.
Although he was supposed to fly from Kandahar to Germany he got re-routed and ended up just
outside Bagdad in Iraq.
Cpl. Vigon was the only Canadian in the hospital at the U.S. Base and his wasn’t safe yet.
“We got rocket attacked by six rockets by the Iraqis.”
Although he quickly gained experience with warfare in Afghanistan, he said the rockets in Iraq
were much bigger.
The Americans have a Phalanx anti-defense at the base which is designed to fire thousands of
rounds at the rockets and hopefully destroy them before they hit the base.
But only one rocket was destroyed and five others landed in the base.
The unfortunate part is, Cpl. Vigon didn’t have his helmet or vest for protection as the rockets
were hitting the base.
All the soldiers in their beds and the nurses donned protective gear, but Cpl. Vigon was left
defenseless.
He remembers one of the nurses yelled at the him to get down.
“I said, fuck you, do you have any blast blankets?”
(Which is a large kevlar blanket that would stop small rounds and shrapnel. But the Americans
didn’t know what Cpl. Vigon was talking about).
As a last resort Cpl. Vigon decided to get under the stretcher for what little protection it offered.
While under the stretcher and rockets landing inside the base he noticed an American soldier in
the bed beside him starring at him hiding under the stretcher.
“I said to him this is bullshit.”
The American said casually nodded in agreement and said, yeah.”
“I’m like, no, I just got shot up in Afghanistan and now I’m in Iraq getting rocketed.”
The American said, “yeah that is bullshit” and the two started laughing.
Both men were then flown to Germany the next day and became friends.
Cpl. Vigon came home on September 12 and was transferred to Markham/Stouffville Hospital
where he was released two days later.
Although he has months of physio-therapy, the scares he suffered in battle from what he
witnessed will never heal.
Rethinking what happened to him on that day that changed his life, wounded so many other
Canadians and killed one of his friends does he have any anger towards the Americans?
None that he will speak of publicly at least.
But he does have anger towards the Canadian Government.
When soldiers are in a battle zone they get tour pay. Cpl. Vigon was expecting upwards of
$30,000 of tax free money to put a down payment on a home in Petawawa for himself and his
new family.
But since he was injured only a month into his tour he won’t get that.
“The fact that myself and everyone else that was with me feels that they have been ripped off
their tour pay.”
“When you get injured, especially not from the enemy you don’t get that money,” he said.
“I’m pretty pissed off about it. They are saying their coming up with something, but I don’t see
what the heck is taking so long.”
When asked to speak about Canadians who don’t support the war and feel that Canada shouldn’t
be fighting in it, Cpl. Vigon doesn’t get angry, or upset.
“They can say what they want because the only side they’re seeing is the combat side and the
guys dying.”
“But there is a difference being made over there and it is a big difference.”
He said, “In order for their to be peace sometimes it takes combat to get there.”
Most people in Afghanistan are very appreciative of what Canadian soldiers are trying to
accomplish.
He admits the battle for stability will be a long fight, but is confident that good will triumph over
evil.
Cpl. Vigon believes it will take years in Afghanistan to restore order and rid the Country of
terrorism.
“Unless the public decides for Canada to come out. If Canada comes out then other Countries
might come out. If Canada comes out they aren’t going to have enough people there required to
do the mission.”
But he strongly believes that Canada should be there.
Not because of what politicians say, but because of what he has seen.
“These people have a right to a normal life.”
“I’m not saying they have to adopt democracy, our rules and laws. It’s their Country, they can
make their own rules and laws, but I think they should have the right to freedom of speech and
not have to be afraid of saying something and getting killed because of it.”
For now, Cpl. Vigon and his wife will concentrate on their new family. Erin is 11 weeks
pregnant and Cpl. Vigon is hoping to spend as much time he can with his family and if duty calls
in the future, he will be there to answer it.
The next tour is in 2008 for his Regiment and it’s unknown if Cpl Vigon will be on the mission,
but he is sure of one thing.
He will remain a soldier.
“If these wounds hinder me from doing my job, then I’ll get a new and different job - but in the
military.
And would he like to go back to Afghanistan? Why would he? Why would a man that has just
started a family want to go back to a Country where there is nothing but beach and no water.
Where there is no colour green. Where he said you miss real food and miss the smell of your
Country? Where soldiers are dying!
In a heartbeat he would.
“Because it’s my job. Being over there sucks. But if nobody was to go back, there would be
nobody there to do the mission. So being a soldier - it’s part of your job.”

__________________________________

October 2006

Pete Fisher
You don’t have to stand on a battlefield to know there is a war.
I have never felt the concussion of artillery shells landing only meters away from me. I have
never seen heavily armored vehicles with their long cold gun barrels lighting up the midnight sky
with round after round. I never witnessed close quarter fighting with guns and soldiers diving for
cover.
I haven’t seen red cross helicopters landing at a base hospital to bring the wounded.
I’ve seen images of war on television - too many times, the images of Kandahar, but I have never
been witness to the horrors of war.
Too many times Canadian soldiers have been killed, bravely fighting an enemy they don’t even
know is an enemy until it’s too late.
I know there is a war because I witnessed it first hand on October 17, 2006 at the repatriation
ceremony for Sgt. Darcy Tedford and Pte. Blake Williamson who were with the 1st Battalion of
the Royal Canadian Regiment.
The jet arrived at C.F.B. Trenton shortly after 9 p.m. carrying the two soldiers were killed on
October 14 in a rocket-propelled grenade attack guarding a construction project.
Canadian forces are building a road to serve as a safer route between the Panjwaii district and
Kandahar.
News reports say the Taliban frequently hide weapons in the area.
The soldiers were the 42 and 43 Canadian casualties since 2002.
It’s a sad fact they won’t be the last.
Two hearses were in place and the jet taxied near to the terminal.
My first witness of war came shortly after.
Two, beautiful young children who looked too under the age of 10 were escorted from the
terminal carrying flowers and stuffed animals.
One by one on this cold night the soldiers flag draped caskets were lowered from the belly of the
jet and into the arms of their comrades.
A lone bagpiper played while the soldiers carried the remains of the men to two hearses lined
facing south near the exit of the base.
Sgt. Tedford’s body was the first to be placed in the hearse.
Like so many people have seen on television, the most heart wrenching moment of the sombre
service is when the family of the fallen soldiers approach the hearse.
I witnessed Sgt. Teford’s grieving wife dressed in black wearing a red turtle necked sweater
holding one red rose.
She looked like she was trying to keep her composure as she was helped along the tarmac to say
goodbye to her husband who had just been placed in a hearse by his comrades.
I saw their two adorable little girls that will never see their father again.
Two little girls too young to realize what they have lost.
I saw Sgt. Tedford’s sister-in-law embrace Mrs. Tedford as she raised her right hand to her lips
and blew a kiss to her husband one final time.
Parents, brothers, aunts, uncles said goodbye to Sgt. Tedford.
After they said their goodbyes, they embraced each other behind the hearse and gave strength to
one another.
Then slowly they walked back for the repatriation of Pt. Williamson. The soldier didn’t have a
wife, or children, but the loss is no less tragic for his mother, father, step-father, brother, sister
other families members, and truly our Country.
I have never set foot on a battlefield of combat, but on that night in October I truly witnessed the
horrors of war. It is something I will never forget.
To all the men and women who serve our Country in the fight for freedom and to their families I
say on this day, and every day - thank you.

__________________________________

December 2006

By Pete Fisher
A soldier born and raised in Port Hope will be on the mend for a year recovering from wounds he
sustained while fighting the war on terrorism in Afghanistan.
James Lightle, age 27 was critically injured when his armoured personnel carrier ran over a bomb
on September 20.
Cpl. Lightle grew up in Port Hope and joined the military in 2000 with his brother Greg Jr. (age
28). He said for his parents Greg and Cathy it took some convincing before the brothers entered
the military. The two ended being in the same class at basic training, but from there went their
separate ways in their military careers. Cpl. Lightle is a Combat Engineer with the 2nd Combat
Engineer Regiment in Petawawa and his brother is stationed in Gagetown, New Brunswick.
But being in the military was not something Cpl. Lightle dreamed about as a career..
He said with the politics that sometimes go along with getting a good job in a small town, he
decided to further his education by attending the University of Ottawa.
But it soon became clear attending university was something that wasn’t “hands on” enough for
him.
While living in Ottawa he attended a Remembrance Day Service and knew from that point what
he wanted to do.
“I remember seeing the pride on all the old guys faces and from that point on I said that I would
like to join.”
But when he joined the military, terrorism wasn’t a high priority for Canada and there was no
9/11.
“It was a job where you knew it was a steady job and great benefits.”
Cpl. Lightle’s first tour overseas was for six months in Bosnia starting in 2003.
His second tour of duty was to Afghanistan on August 12.
He was on the same flight as Cpl. Brock Vigon who also has ties to Port Hope.
Cpl. Vigon’s wife, Erin and Cpl. Lightle’s girlfriend Andrea Walsh knew each other from school.
Cpl. Lightle graciously sat down with the Port Hope Evening Guide to discuss what happened.
The story on how Cpl Lightle was injured was not on any newscast he says.
Because usually when the public hears of soldiers being injured, usually there is at least one
soldier who has died which brings national attention to the story.
With Cpl. Lightle’s injury, he was the only one injured.
Although he is a Combat Engineer, he could not discuss his exact role while in Afghanistan.
“I went in, doing an engineer specific task,” is all Cpl. Lightle could say about his mission.
“We were a little specialty group of eight people. Were with the Provincial Reconstruction team
for the first two weeks based at Camp Nathan Smith in the middle of Kandahar city.”
From that point the soldiers went to an area around Panjwani, spending day after day in the
desert.
In the day temperatures would reach 59 degrees Celcius and at night they would drop to 15
degrees Celcius.
“No tent, it was pretty much sleeping on the ground,” said Cpl. Lightle.
“The only thing that sucked about that was the sand fleas. But if you’re lucky enough you get a
cot and use the cot.”
After 24 days in the desert the soldiers headed back for a 24 hour break before heading out again.
“From that point I went back out and I think it was four days after that I got blown up.”
On September 20, Cpl. Lightle was traveling in a convoy with other Canadians and Americans
along a dirt road.
He was traveling in a eight wheeled armored personnel carrier called a Bison.
The Canadian Military has 30 Bison armoured vehicles in Kabul.
The Department of National Defence describes it as an eight-wheeled armoured vehicle
originally designed as an infantry section carrier. The Bisons are now used in other support roles,
including reconnaissance, and as ambulances, electronic warfare vehicles and mortar platforms.
There were three people in the Bison when it hit the I.E.D. (A driver, Crew Commander and rear
sentry)
Cpl. Lightle was the rear sentry - his head and shoulders were sticking out of the top hatch
watching no one approached his vehicle as they were traveling.
“Just in case anyone comes out of no where trying to blow themselves up - you want to make
sure you can kill them before they can kill you or anyone in your area.”
Four other vehicles were ahead of his Bison and drove over the I.E.D. (Improvised Explosive
Device) without detonating it.
Then the rear wheels of Cpl. Lightle’s vehicle detonated it.
“I think it was 6 a.m. when I was blown up.”
“I got thrown into the vehicle and my weapon (C-72 rifle) was thrown I think 80 feet or 80
meters over a mudwall.
The 13 tonne Bison vehicle was thrown 17 feet by the blast which was equivalent to 40 pounds
of explosives. Cpl. Lightle said the devices used were two anti-tank mines, a Chinese 107 rocket
and four litres of Napalm. The force of the explosion blew all the tires off of the one side of the
Bison.
And there was a hole in the bottom of the Bison measuring approximately four feet in diameter.
“From that point I just sat in the vehicle and yelled at the boys to see if they were ok, because I
knew we were definitely hit by something.”
“I felt blood coming out of my armpit,” said Cpl. Lightle.
“There was blood running down my face. My ankle was twisting all the way around with the
bone popped out.”
But surprisingly Cpl. Lightle wasn’t in any pain.
“I could feel the blood coming out. It’s not like you don’t feel it, but there is just no pain because
of the shock and adrenalin.”
He suffered shrapnel to his armpit, and face, but the most serious injury was to his right leg and
ankle.
One of Pte. Lightle’s American friends traveling in another vehicle behind, helped pull him from
the Bison while another American soldier administered first aid.
Cpl. Lightle said amazingly no one else was injured in the explosion.
He believes it was because the bomb detonated near where he was in the Bison.
Improvised Explosive Devices placed by the Taliban are very dangerous to the soldiers riding in
convoys along dirt roads.
“It’s so easy because the soil is so soft it’s almost like moon dust.”
“You can step in it and you don’t really realize you’ve gone three feet into the dirt.”
One of the major counter measures coalition forces are doing is building a paved road
approximately 100 meters wide.
As an American medic was tending to Pte. Lightle’s injuries, the injured soldier tried to joke with
his fellow soldiers.
“We worked with them for a long time and we were really close and they had that look on their
faces that you don’t like seeing, so I was just trying to joke around as much as possible.”
A group of Canadian soldiers that came upon the convoy happened to know Cpl. Lightle and
picked him up and drove him to the Patrol Base Wilson where he was airlifted by an American
Blackhawk helicopter..
During the flight a female Australian medic said that Pte. Lightle must be a “pretty boy” because
he was more concerned about a small cut just above his eye that was bleeding rather than the
major injury to his leg.
He was airlifted to a base in Kandahar where he was x-rayed and checked for paralysis.
While being treated he had a chance to phone his parents and his girlfriend back in Port Hope.
“I said, “hey babe I’ve been hurt” and she was just in shock,” referring to his girlfriend.
At first both his parents and girlfriend didn’t believe him, because they were talking to him, but
later realized the seriousness of the injury.
Cpl. Lighlte was then airlifted to Iraq where he stayed for five hours before being loaded onto a
U.S. military jet called a Starlifter.
When he was leaving Iraq, he was struck by the number injured soldiers being loaded evacuation.
“There was only about six from Kandahar that were actually injured then the plane just filled
right up from soldiers injured in Iraq.”
“You see stacks and stacks of boys that are injured.”
Cpl. Lightle has been staying regularly at his parents home in Port Hope, but his rehabilitation
takes place in Petawawa.
Although he thinks about his friends and fellow soldiers still in Afghanistan, he wishes he was
still there.
“I love doing my job so much and that’s the only reason why I miss being over there.”
“I know it might sound weird, but it was fun being over there,” said Cpl. Lightle.
“You might get shot at, but you just shoot back.”
As for the war on terror coming to an end in the near future?
“You always hope,” said Pte. Lightle.
And for the recently announced tour pay that the injured soldiers will now receive by the Federal
Government, Cpl. Lightle said like other soldiers that have been injured, it is long overdue.
“If I didn’t get this injury, I’d still be over there fighting right now because I love doing my job. I
find there is a lot of guys in the military that bank on that money.”
Cpl. Lightle had planned to fix up his house in Pembroke and buy his girlfriend a ring, but when
he didn’t get the tour pay, that changed.. But he still doesn’t know when the back pay will come
in.
And if the Canadian public wants to know if the care packages sent over make a difference to the
soldiers, Cpl. Lightle said the littlest things make a big difference.
When he was in the desert for nearly a month the closest thing he had to a shower was a bottle of
water.
So Baby Wipes help out.
“Chapstick was another hot item,” he said with a smile.
Soldiers lips get dried out because of the heat, then when they lick them, they dry out even more.
Pte. Lightle called them “creature comforts.”
“Boys will bring pillows out. They just don’t want to sleep on the ground in the dirt. They want
to have something that kind of makes them feel human.”
Cpl. Lightle goes to work two times a week for half days, but it is expected it will take him a year
before he is fully recovered.
And the typical question that the Canadian public asks if Canadians are making a difference?
Pte. Lightle said he knows he was.
“I was helping out civilians because if something (bomb) goes off and kills civilians they are
going to blame us and if you take it out of the ground they are at least going to think you are
trying to help.”
“The Canadian pubic voted us to go there and that’s why we’re there and we’re doing a damn
good job there. I’m not a part of the political side of it at all. When someone tells me to go take
that hill, I’ll take that hill and that’s the way I’ve always been.”

__________________________________

June 2007

These images are why we stand on bridges when our Fallen soldiers return.
On Tuesday it was announced that Trooper Darryl Caswell was the 57th casualty in Afghanistan.
Trooper Caswell died on his brother’s 12 birthday.
At the home of his father in Bowmanville the family huddled together holding pictures of their
son, and brother.
Trooper Caswell’s sister sits alone holding a small framed picture of her brother. She is consoled
by a military chaplain. All the family has left know are memories and pictures.
Logan, age 12, shows dog tags given to him by his brother who was killed by a roadside bomb.
I was sent to the home to take pictures of the family.
The family graciously agreed to talk to the media.
It was one of the hardest assignments I’ve ever covered.
Parents talking about their son. The pride he had in the military. Proud parents telling stories of
happier times. Wanting the nation to know who there son was.
There were many tears by the family and from the media.
During one moment, I was setting the family on the steps for a photo and glanced at the picture
of Trooper Caswell and then it hit me.
I tried to compose myself while the reporter I was with took over.
They talked how their son would call before he went on a mission to say if they didn’t hear from
him, it’s because he was in the field.
The family were in the stages of planning a party for him when he returned home, now, they plan
a funeral.
A mother and step mother holding each other for support.
This was sad beyond words.
But they wanted to tell Canada about their son and how much he meant to them.
They will always be proud of their son.
After, there was one other reporter and myself left alone with the family. The reporter said his
goodbyes and thanked them for giving us their time.
When it was my turn, I went up to Darryl’s mother and sister and said that I wanted them to
know they are not alone. It was something that I wanted to tell every family member of every
repatriation ceremony I have taken pictures at. Then I walked away.
The reporter and I met at the curb, both of us had tears streaming down our faces.
After, I talked with the military liaison from Petawawa about what people from Northumberland
County do when a fallen soldier passes through the area.
He said, he’s never heard of that happening.
And so I told him I would send him pictures and he told me that would mean a lot to the soldiers.
And this is why we stand on bridges.
For soldiers families, and for the soldiers.

December 7, 2008 Toronto Sun

PETERBOROUGH -- The family of Cpl. Mark Robert McLaren gathered at the Peterborough Armouries with relatives and friends to pay tribute to their courageous fallen soldier.

The Friday night vigil, just hours after news of his death broke, was the first of likely many memorials to the small city's young warrior who despite being wounded during his first tour in Afghanistan signed on for a second tour even before his first, and now last, homecoming.

Announcing McLaren's death, Canadian military officials revealed the 23-year-old had saved the life of an Afghan soldier a few weeks earlier, crawling under fire to the injured soldier to give him first aid.

Back in his hometown, his older brother openly wished he had been there to do the same for McLaren.

"He was my best friend. He was my little brother and I should have been maybe there protecting him," Miles McLaren told the Sun as he hugged his stepmother and wiped tears from his eyes. "He didn't get to live enough years."

McLaren was killed instantly Friday along with Warrant Officer Robert John Wilson and Pte. Demetrios Diplaros, when their armoured vehicle struck an improvised explosive device while on regular patrol.

All three were from the 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, based in Petawawa, Ont.

McLaren's father, Alan, wasn't surprised his son had risked his life a few weeks ago to save another soldier.

"That's Mark. He would risk himself for the help of others," Alan McLaren said. "That's our son. That's our hero. He did everything he set out to do and we're so proud of him."

While serving as a reservist on tour in Afghanistan in 2006, McLaren was wounded by friendly fire when a A-10 Thunderbolt mistakenly opened up on a group of soldiers.

One soldier was killed in the mishap. Just days before his 21st birthday, McLaren was in hospital with shrapnel in the upper right thigh and the back of his neck. Despite the injuries, he was able to resume duties.

When McLaren came home the first time, the city had tributes from the local MP, MPP and the Peterborough city councilman.

December 7, 2008 Toronto Sun