Regretful Return On Highway of Heroes
Posted September 28, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Cpl. Nathan Hornburg became the 71st Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan when he was killed Monday during a fierce fire fight with the Taliban. On Friday he became the first casualty to officially travel the Highway of Heroes — a stretch of the 401 from Trenton to Toronto that was recently renamed by the Ontario government.
The 24-year-old soldier from Alberta was honoured in a sombre repatriation ceremony at CFB Trenton in eastern Ontario, before his body was driven to Toronto for an autopsy.
Mourners packed highway overpasses to express their sorrow, and their support of the troops.
“I’m proud to be Canadian, and I just want them to come home safe,” said Yvonne Lepage, who paid tribute by waving a Canadian flag from an overpass in Oshawa.
Alberta veteran Chekotah Bronson joined the mourners.
“I was in the area and when I heard it’s an Alberta boy coming back home, and being from Alberta, I wanted to be here and participate with everybody,” he said.
“For any of these young fellows who are going overseas and doing what you and I should be doing, we’ve got to absolutely support these boys from the get-go.”
