U.S. Bombing Error Takes Lives of 4 Canadian Soldiers [my ti

[Mercuria]

[Submitting links to three stories from the Calgary Sun...with prayers and condolences from an American who believes an explanation from us to Canada is fully warranted...]

Night of Horror Recalled
Canadian soldiers recount chaotic hours after U.S. bombing error

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- It was one of those golden moments a soldier always remembers after the tour is over.

Cpl. Chris Kopp was lying on the dusty brown earth of southern Afghanistan alongside Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, originally from Montreal. It was shortly before 2 a.m. and the desert sky was clear. It seemed a far cry from the tent village that is now the paratroopers' home.

They were flat on their backs, staring up at the stars, talking about flush toilets and real food and the absolutely unique experience of being a Canadian soldier in Afghanistan in these troubled times.

It was a good talk, philosophical. Not the usual barracks banter. Except for the sounds of the mock battle being staged in the background, it was almost serene.

Moments like that can seem to last forever in the army, where soldiers find that time is rarely their own.

All too soon, it ended. It was the 25-year-old Dyer's turn to get up and move up the wadi to his machine-gun position during live-fire exercises with Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

Moments later, there were cries of pain, calls for medics and a whirlwind of activity.

**Rest of article here**

Two Worlds Unite To Mourn
by Shane Holladay, Sun Media

EDMONTON -- At the boundary, it seemed, between two worlds, tearful friends and family gathered yesterday to remember a best friend and soldier killed with three others by a U.S. bomb.

Outside the church chosen for the memorial of Sgt. Marc Leger, open fields stretch away to the horizon, eventually reaching the Edmonton garrison, home of Leger's second family: The Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry battle group. On the other, new homes stand, many built for new families, like one he has just left behind.

"We are gathered here in God's house to celebrate a gift," Padre Gerard Vardy told 1,000 mourners at St. Charles Catholic church, where Leger married his high school sweetheart, Marley, in October 1999.

His funeral, with full military honour, will be held Wednesday at St. Joseph's Catholic church in Lancaster, Ont., where he was baptized.

**Rest of article here**

Feds Demand Full Access To American Info
by Maria McClintock, Ottawa Bureau

OTTAWA -- The Canadian military is demanding full access to all information uncovered by American authorities about why a U.S. fighter pilot dropped a bomb that killed four Canadian soldiers and wounded eight others, Defence Minister Art Eggleton said yesterday.

"There's not going to be any circumstance where there's going to be a hiding of the kind of information that is necessary to come to an appropriate conclusion," Eggleton told CBC Newsworld yesterday.

**Rest of article here**

[Live Free or Die]

This is a tragedy of the first order. I hope that the U.S. will fully investigate what went wrong. We have not heard the pilot's side of the story, but no doubt he is overwhelmed with grief by the horrible mistake he made. Friendly fire is just one of the many horrible things that happen in war. Canadians deserve a full explanation of what happened.