KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — The deaths of four Canadian soldiers and a journalist in a roadside bombing two days before the New Year ushers in a sombre 2010 for many Canadians.
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Sgt. George Miok, 28, Sgt. Kirk Taylor, 28, Cpl. Zachery McCormack, 21, and Pte. Garrett William Chidley, 21, were killed Wednesday when their armoured vehicle hit an improvised explosive device four kilometres south of Kandahar City. Michelle Lang, a Calgary Herald reporter covering the conflict for Canwest News Service, also died in the attack.
Five others were wounded, including four soldiers and a Canadian civilian worker.
The fallen soldiers were widely praised Thursday as dedicated and passionate men who cared for their comrades and their country.
Lang will be honoured alongside them in a formal ramp ceremony at Kandahar Airfield Friday before their aircraft takes off to bring them home. The bodies are expected to arrive back in Canada on Sunday afternoon, landing at Canadian Forces Base Trenton. From there, they’ll travel in a convoy along the Highway of Heroes, a 172-kilometre stretch of Highway 401 between Trenton and Toronto.
“Michelle will be transported back with our four lost soldiers,”said Lt.-Col. Chris Lemay. “We think it’s the right thing to do. This is the first reporter who was part of the embed program that we’ve lost. This is a first for the Canadian Forces.”
Brig.-Gen. Daniel Menard, Commander of Task Force Kandahar, offered heartfelt words about each of the victims.
Miok, based in Edmonton, was remembered as a “dedicated” officer who was well-liked by his troops. “The welfare of his soldiers came first, and they knew they could turn to him for advice and guidance.”
Taylor, based in Yarmouth, N.S., was known as “Sgt. Morale” because of his sense of humour and calm demeanour.
“He enjoyed a challenge, and though he didn’t seek the spotlight, he would take the difficult jobs without complaint,” said Menard, adding Taylor was passionate about his job mentoring troubled youth back home in Canada.
“He brought the same enthusiasm with him to Afghanistan.”
Chidley, born in Cambridge, Ont., and raised in Langley, B.C., could always beat his friends and fellow soldiers at video games. “He was a great driver, the one you wanted for difficult tasks,” said Menard.
Cam Chidley wrote about his son on Facebook Thursday: “My ex-wife Sian and I have lost our son Garrett in Afghanistan yesterday. God help us and please watch over our daughter Devon, and our son Joe.”
McCormack, based in Edmonton, was remembered as a team player who was passionate about his family and looking forward to soon marrying his fiancee.
“He was a very caring individual who always lent a helping hand to others,” Menard said. “He always had a way of raising morale by making the rest of the section laugh.”
Lang, too, was soon to be married.
In a statement he released Thursday, Lang’s fiance said her death “is the darkest and most painful moment of my life.
“I am absolutely devastated by the loss of my dearest Michelle — my partner, my best friend, and the love of my life,” said Michael Louie.
Louie, said he’s been overwhelmed with messages of condolences.
“It makes me feel really good to see all the people that Michelle has impacted or has touched,” he said. “It comes as no surprise to me whatsoever, though.”
Although new to Kandahar, Menard said Lang “touched many of us” through her sensitivity and ability to connect with people.
“Michelle . . . was a young, dynamic reporter who strove to excel at her job,” he said. “[She] was passionate about life and inspired those around her.”
Lang, 34, was just two weeks into her first stint in Afghanistan and was the first Canadian journalist to die there since the Canadian military mission began in 2002.
Brig.-Gen. Michael P. Jorgensen, commander Land Force Western Area, praised the soldiers and Lang for their sacrifice.
“The thoughts and prayers of the entire military family are with those brave soldiers who were killed or wounded, with their families and with Michelle Lang of the Calgary Herald and her family,” Jorgensen said. “Journalists embedded with our troops in Afghanistan take the same risks and expose themselves to the same dangers and discomforts as our soldiers do. They should be commended for this, as they, too, leave the comforts of their Canadian lives and their families to report from Afghanistan.”
Wednesday was an especially bloody day in Afghanistan. In addition to the attack on the Canadians, eight American civilian workers died in a suicide bomb attack on a U.S. military base close to the border with Pakistan, officials said.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks. “This work is done by us,” Yusuf Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Islamist insurgent group, told AFP.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper recognized the “heavy hearts” of Canadians and offered his sympathies.
“The five men and women who perished are true Canadian heroes,” Harper said.
Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said it was “with profound sadness that we mourn the loss of four brave Canadian soldiers and a Canadian journalist in Afghanistan . . . Their service exemplifies the very best in courage and selflessness, and their deaths will not be forgotten as our mission to build a safe and secure country for the people of Afghanistan continues.”
“Our country has suffered a terrible tragedy in the loss of Canadian journalist Michelle Lang and four brave soldiers. … My thoughts and prayers are with their families, friends and loved ones,” said NDP Leader Jack Layton.
Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean, too, reacted with sadness to the deaths and injuries.
“It reminds us of the underhanded, blind, daily violence facing our Canadian soldiers, journalists and humanitarian workers in Afghanistan, who are working alongside the local population already hard hit by decades of terror.
“Our thoughts are with the families, the loved ones and the colleagues of the deceased. We also wish the injured a prompt recovery.”
Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai offered his condolences Thursday.
“The Afghans will not forget your sacrifice,” Karzai said in statement reported by Canadian Press. “Your children sacrificed their lives for the people of Afghanistan and the threat of terrorism.”
The deaths bring the toll of Canadian soldiers to 138 since the mission there began in 2002.
At least 17 journalists from around the world have been killed in Afghanistan since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to statistics maintained by the Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent, non-profit organization.
With a file from Calgary Herald
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