I Face the Foe In Darkness

"I face the foe in darkness,
on a sandy white beach
facing the hidden foe.
I face the foe in darkness, with no fear.

I face the foe in darkness,
with no fear of Death's Embrace
the last cold embrace man will know.

I run up to a fence off death;
my black weapon of death wielded in my dirty hands.
I face the foe in Darkness,
using all my rage against the foe.

Thee un up to the walls of stone of thy foe,

and I fall with thy comrades.
Thence I have fallen with my friends,
in mighty battle."

The hearse bearing Capt. Matthew Dawe

leaves the Royal Military College in Kingston

on the way to the funeral service

by Noel Micheal Guscott

Noel was inspired by they men and women of the Canadian Forces and their dedication especially due to the long line of Military history in his family.

He wrote this poem shortly after the passing of Capt Matthew Dawe seen below.

I Face the Foe In Darkness (Part Two)

"Now I face the foe In darkness,
thence I have died;
I do still stand at my men's right side.
I face the foe In darkness.

Forever more in spirit.
Now the men come crashing down on the foe's halls of stone!
Yelling, screamin their rage!
While the dead provide light for their way, courage,
and all other things that they can provide.

Hail!
Hail the dead!
Hail the living!
Alas!
The foe in darkness has fallen beneath my friend's feet;
they celebrate now, before they move on.
Thence the foe in darkness has fallen."

by Noel Micheal Guscott


Capt Matthen Dawe,

MAY YOU AND YOUR BROTHERS IN ARMS REST IN PEACE

Kandahar Airfield without Canadiana

Beyond its troops and tanks, Canada casts a long shadow at Kandahar Airfield, the hub of the coalition's Afghan mission.
There's the Canadian gym, popular among the nearly 20,000 soldiers from other countries. So too is the on-base Tim Hortons, owned and operated by the Canadian Forces. The base's prominent Canadian-built hockey pad is home to a house league, which is dominated, naturally, by Canadian teams.
KAF is heavy on its Can-con, all of it built since Kandahar became the focus of Canada's Afghan mission in 2006. But with Canadian combat troops set to withdraw next summer, coalition countries face a cold reality: KAF without Canada. (read more =>)

Oh Canada, In respect of the loss of Cpl. Darren James Fitzpatrick

An injured soldier who returned home to Edmonton died from his wounds surrounded by family. The 21 year old infantryman was a member of the PPCLI. He had been injured by an I.E.D on March 6. Let us not forget all the injured soldiers who live and face new challenges everyday, and let us not forget Cpl. Darren James Fitzpatrick. His efforts were not for nothing.Rest in Peace

So deeply sorry to hear the news

Of the loss of another son

Oh Canada we’d have held you near

Our oh so precious one... See More

We thank you lord for seeing him home

To the country of his birth

We thank you lord for bringing him home

To those for whom he served

We thank you he had the loving arms

Of his family gathered near

That he could rest in the loving arms

Of his loved ones standing near

Oh Canada, for you are he

So much more than all of us

Oh Canada you have given so much

On behalf of all of us

Oh Canada we feel so cheated

For we knew not of your plight

Or so proudly we would have been there

Standing quietly out of sight

We would have held a vigil

Held you close within our thoughts

We would have held you closely near

In our prayers and in our hearts

Thank you son, Oh Canada

For me that is your name

For you’re the son who was welcomed home

And we knew not that you came

We thank you lord, he made it home

To his country, to his land

We thank you for your loving gift

Of this brave Canadian

Please Lord send your angels

Carry him gently hold him tight

That he may rest in the loving hearts

Of those he shared throughout his life

Let them know we are so grateful

For the sacrifice that he gave

To make our world a better place

Amongst a country he sought to save

Your efforts Darren will not be forgotten.

You are Canada, and you and your fellow troops are in our hearts.

Cpl. Darren James Fitzpatrick, we knew you not, but our prayers reach out for you, your loved ones, friends, and fellow soldiers. We do, so dearly, thank you and your loved ones for your efforts towards making our world a better place.

By: Roger Borchert

For the Family, Loved Ones, Friends and Fellow Soldiers of Sgt. John Wayne Faught

He was a soldier’s soldier crusty to the edge
He led and guided younger ones
Safely kept until and when
To bring them home when their duty done
He died doing duty’s task
On behalf of a country so very proud
Now hurting at his pass
The hearts that pound, the tears that flow
He looks on from angel’s arms
And growls a laugh, Stand proudly lads
Until your duty’s passed
Weep not for me for now I’ll rest
In eternal loving arms
In hearts across a nation
Near mountains, seas and farms
In cities where we went to share
In the company of having fun
For we’ve enjoyed those very things
We’ve tried to pass along
To a nation buried in an evil dust
Of terror, hate, and war
That hasn’t had the chance to pass
Through freedoms opening door
So proud he walked the sands of time
So proud to give his all
To protect and place his life between
This terror and us all
They say John was gruff
Tough as Sergeants come
But for each and every one
To these youth he led in danger’s way
A father he’d become
They placed a trust a bond in him
As each do in that brotherhood
He will be missed by all those near
For what he taught to them was good
Oh Canada we rise salute
A soldier coming home
A son who rose to challenge’s hand
A soldier’s soldier it is wrote
For his family, friends, and loved ones
We pledge a solemn vow
To remember and hold high the torch
He’s carried forth for us till now

Your efforts John, will not be forgotten. You are Canada, and you and your fellow troops are in our hearts.

Sgt. John Wayne Faught we knew you not, but our prayers reach out for you, your loved ones, friends, and fellow soldiers. We do, so dearly, thank you and your loved ones for your efforts towards making our world a better place.

By: Roger Borchert

Fifteen Days: Stories Of Bravery, Friendship, Life And Death From Inside The New Canadian Army

Description:

Long before she made her first trip to Afghanistan as an embedded reporter for The Globe and Mail, Christie Blatchford was already one of Canada’s most respected and eagerly read journalists. Her vivid prose, her unmistakable voice, her ability to connect emotionally with her subjects and readers, her hard-won and hard-nosed skills as a reporter–these had already established her as a household name. But with her many reports from Afghanistan, and in dozens of interviews with the returned members of the 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and others back at home, she found the subject she was born to tackle. Her reporting of the conflict and her deeply empathetic observations of the men and women who wear the maple leaf are words for the ages, fit to stand alongside the nation’s best writing on war.It is a testament to Christie Blatchford’s skills and integrity that along with the admiration of her readers, she won the respect and trust of the soldiers. They share breathtakingly honest accounts of their desire to serve, their willingness to confront fear and danger in the battlefield, their loyalty towards each other and the heartbreak occasioned by the loss of one of their own. Grounded in insights gained over the course of three trips to Afghanistan in 2006, and drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews not only with the servicemen and -women with whom she shared so much, but with their commanders and family members as well, Christie Blatchford creates a detailed, complex and deeply affecting picture of military life in the twenty-first century.

Reviews:

“Blatchford has the rare ability to make her descriptions of combat, particularly those involving loss of life and serious injury, almost embarrassing to the reader. You feel that you are eavesdropping on very private matters. Her extensive research and her own recollections as she was caught up in the thick of some of the heaviest fighting are compelling, gut-wrenching and, unfortunately, real. . . . She walked the walk. . . . Blatchford’s hundreds of hours of interviews in Canada have produced a rare, intimate look at how individual families coped with an early-morning knock on the door, and the presence of a unit officer and a padre with devastating news, or having a vehicle chase down a father out for a jog with a request that he get in and return home because ‘the Army is at your house.’. . . As someone who has been to Afghanistan visiting our troops a couple of times, I learned more about the performance of our soldiers from reading Blatchford’s book then [sic] I did from being on the ground for short stays. . . . I’ve never felt prouder of being Canadian then when I’ve had the pleasure of commanding, or, in the case of Afghanistan, observing Canadian soldiers performing their duties abroad. Fifteen Days reinforced that pride even more. Bravo Zulu, Christie Blatchford.”

— Major-General Lewis MacKenzie (ret’d) in The Globe and Mail

“Her work, at its best, tends to reflect life’s mirror. There is death in her book, of course. It’s about war, after all — our war, to those who support it, and our soldiers, even to those who don’t. Blatch [sic] gives them more than just faces, she gives them life. And, for those who died wearing Canada’s uniform, she gives them a life that no newspaper has the length and space to describe, and no television documentary can convey in an hour’s time slot.”

— London Free Press

“Christie Blatchford brings to the theatre of hostilities her keen eye and curiosity. She writes superb prose that conveys the experience of the Canadians’ war in Afghanistan. She understands the soldiers and has grasped the comradeship that binds them together. She not only informs Canadians of today’s military realities, but champions values such as honour and sacrifice. She is exceptionally evocative, superbly descriptive, and develops a compelling storyline.”

- Citation from the 2006 Ross Munro Media Award

“Sandstorms, killer heat, sneak suicide attacks, rotten food, bites from five-foot snakes, death of buddies, can’t tell the enemy from friends - a tough and deadly war, yet Blatchford shows how our troops soldier on with no complaints. You will be involved in conversations with the troops that could only be gathered first hand. This book will open your eyes to this brutal war and it is worthy of our brave young men and women. It is a tough book written by a tough broad who tells it like it is. I could not put the book down.”

- Don Cherry

“Fifteen Days is by far the most deeply personal and startlingly honest account of Canadian soldiers since they first stepped foot in Afghanistan. Uninhibited by the official line, the troops hold nothing back, proving over and over why they are the best PR agents in the military; they also have the most to lose. By earning their confidence and respect, Christie Blatchford has delivered a candid and often painful account of their most difficult days. She is a master at capturing the truth of a moment, the humour and the heartbreak. The book is so vivid that I could feel the unbearable weight of the fallen. “

- Lisa LaFlamme, National Affairs Correspondent, CTV National News

PW - I Stand

I Stand for You

When terror grips you,

and the fabric of civility tears,

I stand for you.

On foreign soil,

where peace is but a whispered hope,

I stand for you.

As bullets fly like bees,

and hateful bombs explode

Threatening to steal my sanity – I stand for you.

I carry broken bodies back to be mended, and

No matter how hard I try – The tears fall like rain,

and still through all the pain,

I stand for you.

That is until I fall, and I wonder,

as I lay cold and Still...Will you remember,

and stand for me?

- Unknown -