The Highway of Heroes Honours another Fallen Canadian Soldier

Today at 3:52 pm a motorcade carrying the casket of 42 year old Col. Geoff Parker of the Royal Canadian Regiment that was killed in Afghanistan Tuesday in an attack on a Nato Convoy drove past me as I took these pictures of the Canadian public, some Veterans and local firefighters paid tribute to them as they traveled the Highway of Heroes.

For those of you that are not aware of this emotional practice, when one of our Canadian Armed Force is killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan he or she is transported after a ramp ceremony at Kandahar Airfield and then is flown back to CFB Trenton for a repatriation ceremony and then is driven in a motorcade along Hwy 401 from Trenton to the Don Valley Parkway and then on to Downtown Toronto for an Autopsy before going to the soldiers final resting place.

That stretch of Hwy 401 was renamed the Highway of Heroes because of the outpouring of support that started at the Grass roots level by ordinary Canadians.

Even though the motorcade does not go through Oshawa till approx. 4 pm people start lining every bridge along the route at least a couple of hours earlier. and this is rain or shine or even snowstorms!

and other than the people waving at cars as they pass under them and then the cars honk their horns in support, most of the time is spent in quiet reflection.

and as seen here there are also Veterans that come out in full dress and flags to salute our heroes.

As Canadians we remember our fallen every November 11th by wearing a poppy and this event that happens to each and every one of our fighting personnel that are returned to their loved ones to be buried on our own soil is both heartbreaking and breathtaking and tugs on our patriotic sleeves and on our emotions.