Hearse carrying remains of reporter Michelle Lang
Hundreds of people braved bitter cold to line the highway outside of Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Trenton this afternoon to pay their respects to the 5 Canadians killed in Kandahar, Afghanistan last week as well as the families of the fallen.
Arriving at the base and parking, the first thing I saw was a man getting out of his car across the highway. At first he looked like any other retired military man. Except that in this case, he had a broken left foot. His cast was wrapped in a plastic bag, and I watched in silence as he hobbled along on his crutches through the slush and snow to find a spot to participate in watching and paying his respects.
The afternoon was snowy with a stiff wind. Temperatures in mid-afternoon had a wind-chill of -23C ( -10 F). Because there were 5 coffins on the plane, the process of removing each coffin and carrying to the waiting hearses took almost 2 hours.
The first off the plane was the coffin carrying Michelle Lang, the reporter who was riding in the armoured car with the troops that hit the IED. Ms. Lang bears the distinction of being the first civilian in Canadian history to be repatriated by the military.
Then the 4 soldiers’ coffins were removed one by one.
When the convoy was ready to leave to head to Toronto, firetrucks blocked traffic along the highway so people could form a line on either side of one lane. The vehicles then passed through the long line of people paying their respects. When the hearses pass by and then the limos with the families of the fallen, it gets pretty personal. And when a family member rolls down a window and waves and says “thank you” to the people gathered along the roadside, the cold and the numbness seem such an insignificant thing .
No matter how many times I attend these ceremonies, the tears always come. And the silence in the car driving home is always a long one.
**my apologies for the blurry pic. After 2 hours in -23 C temps, it wasn’t working that well anymore**
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