100th Canadian Hero to give their all in Afghanistan

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. "Canada lost three fine soldiers today," Brigadier-General Denis Thompson said,  Kandahar Airfield's marble cenotaph -- home to the names of 97 other fallen troops -- visible in the background. "Already there is talk of numbers and milestones, but it is my hope that the focus remains on the lives and the sacrifices of these brave soldiers as they served Canada in the effort to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan." The ever-present perils of southern Afghanistan's dusty, dangerous roads claimed the lives of three more Canadian soldiers yesterday, pushing the death toll for Canada's military mission in this battle-bruised country to a tragic new benchmark.  "Warrant Officer Robert John Wilson was known to all simply as R.J.," Thompson said. "This was his second tour in Afghanistan."  Wilson's wife is also a soldier and is currently serving in Afghanistan. She will return home with his remains. Thompson described McLaren as a veteran of the Afghan mission who was wounded in 2006, but returned eagerly in order to finish the job. "A few weeks ago, Mark risked his life by crawling toward an Afghan soldier who had been shot to provide first aid while under fire," Thompson said. He described Diplaros as an exceptional driver and gunner who performed "remarkably" on his first tour -- a soldier "generally known to his friends and colleagues as Dip, because of their inability to properly pronounce his name." Corporal Mark Robert McLaren, Private Demetrios Diplaros and Warrant Officer Robert John Wilson all died when their armoured vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in the Arghandab district west of Kandahar city. The ensuing blast heralded a milestone long feared and all but inevitable: 100 Canadian soldiers participating in the Afghan mission have been killed since the deployment began in 2002. All three Canadian casualties -- members of the Operational Liaison and Mentoring Team, which trains members of the Afghan National Army (ANA) -- were from the 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, based in Petawawa, Ont. The deaths mark the first fatalities for the current rotation of soldiers in the battle group that arrived in Afghanistan in mid-September, and the end of a three-month period without fatalities -- the longest such reprieve since the first Canadian battle group was deployed to Kandahar in early 2006. The three soldiers were involved in normal "framework operations" with the ANA when the IED exploded, said Thompson. "This was a very large IED. It killed them all instantly, without question." In a separate incident about an hour earlier, two other Canadian soldiers were injured -- one seriously -- in an explosion during a foot patrol along with members of the ANA in the dangerous Zhari district west of Kandahar city. IEDs, long the weapon of choice for Taliban insurgents, have been responsible for the majority of the Canadian military deaths on Afghan soil -- 14 this year alone. Prior to yesterday, the last occurred Sept. 7 -- the same day Harper called the Oct. 14 election -- when Sergeant Prescott (Scott) Shipway, of Esterhazy, Sask., was killed by a roadside bomb explosion in the Panjwaii district of Kandahar. The lack of Canadian fatalities over the past three months do not mean it's been quiet, Thompson added, nor does yesterday's setback mean his men won't soldier on. Peace