Two Canadian soldiers killed in roadside bomb blast
Updated Mon. Sep. 7 2009 7:53 AM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Two more Canadian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, after a roadside bomb exploded on a road southwest of Kandahar.
The blast occurred at around noon on Sunday, in the Dand district, southwest of Kandahar city.
Maj. Yannick Pepin, 36, and Cpl. Jean-Francois Drouin, 21, were killed by the bomb. Five others were injured in the blast.
Both fallen soldiers were members of the 5 Combat Engineer Regiment out of Valcartier, Que.
Following the news of their deaths, Col. Roch Lacroix, the deputy commander for Task Force Kandahar, said the entire task force was mourning their loss.
"Saying goodbye to Yannick and Jean-Francois so prematurely is hard for me, it is hard for their friends, and it's hard for their families," Lacroix said late Sunday night.
"Engineers like Yannick and Jean-Francois....put in a great deal of effort in Afghanistan where they're denying the ability of the insurgents to kill innocent victims on a large scale or simply reconstructing a bridge, roads, schools with their Afghan partners."
Lacroix praised both men for their commitment to the mission and their personal qualities.
"Nothing comes easy here and it takes patience and determination -- two qualities that both men embodied. Today is the time to grieve but tomorrow we will continue our work to better the lives of Afghans."
Pepin leaves behind his partner, Annie, and their two children, Alexandra and Charles.
The 10-year Canadian Forces veteran was a compassionate soldier, Lacroix said.
"Proof of this was when he was on patrol once and stopped his vehicle to take a kite out of the antenna from his vehicle. He handed it to the small Afghan child who thought it had been lost. That day he carried a big grin," said Lacroix.
"Yannick was a man of action who was always involved in things and put his personal interests second. We miss him enormously."
His younger colleague Drouin had a bright future ahead of him in the military. He was known among his fellow soldiers as 'Big Drou,' and as a guy who liked to make other people laugh.
"Jean-Francois was a very generous man with a big heart," Lacroix said. "As big a heart as the three pieces of steel he liked to lift in the gymnasium."
Lacroix said Drouin had recently received an accelerated promotion to the rank of corporal.
Drouin is survived by his partner, Audrey.
Canada has now lost 129 soldiers during its mission in Afghanistan since it began seven years ago.
With files from The Canadian Press
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...hub=TopStories