Canadians honor soldiers killed in Afghanistan
WHITBY, Ontario - More than 200 people line an overpass above a stretch of Canada's busiest thoroughfare now known as the Highway of Heroes to pay final tribute to three soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
Veterans, families and firefighters respectfully applaud and wave maple leaf flags as police motorcade of hearses and limousines passes. The soldiers' families wave back in appreciation. The ritual is repeated every time a fallen soldier returns to Canada.
On Saturday night, as three bodies moved down the 100-mile-long section of Highway 401 that connects the military base in Trenton, Ontario, to the morgue in Toronto, dozens of bridges along the way were packed with people.
Canada has lost 93 soldiers and one diplomat in Afghanistan - including three soldiers killed by a roadside bomb last Wednesday.
Posted by: Steve White 2008-08-26 |