KENAZ 'S BLOG: June 08, 2008

Just outside Makuan village here, Noor Mohammed, deputized as a security guard at a radio tower, goes to work in plainclothes. "If I wear a uniform, they will kill me," he tells Canadian army Capt. Jonathan Snyder, 24, who is patrolling the area two days after a Canadian convoy was ambushed nearby. Snyder is exasperated: "You shouldn't fear for your life," he tells the frightened man. "They should be fearing for their lives because of you."-Capt. Jonathan Snyder, trying to quell the fears the Afghan have for the Taliban. source 6/20/2006 article in USA Today.

I found this fitting song composed by MacPhee, Schram, Howe in my files simply entitled "Ode To The Canadian Soldier "and uploaded to imeem. Please give a listen. The lyrics pay tribute to the men and women who are "Fighting for freedom and staying the course.

Capt. Jonathan Snyder of Penticton, B.C., was a member of 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton. Snyder was on foot patrol in a field in Zhari district Saturday when he tumbled into an open well the Afghans call a kariz, said Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson, commander of Canadian troops in Afghanistan. He would have been wearing at least 34 kilograms of equipment at the time, including a flak vest and helmet. Thompson said the well Snyder was trapped in may have been as deep as 20 metres. The rest of his patrol tried desperately to rescue him as they radioed for help. Once out of the well, Snyder was rushed to the NATO military hospital at Kandahar Airfield, where he was pronounced dead. Snyder was serving as a mentor and role model to members of the Afghan National Army, and his recent leadership in the field likely saved both Canadian and Afghan lives, Thompson said. Snyder was the 85th Canadian soldier and one diplomat to die in the war-torn country since 2002. He leaves behind a fiancée and his parents.

full story

Peace

KENAZ 'S BLOG

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Canadian soldier dies on night foot patrol in Afghanistan