Loved ones, troops say goodbye to soldier
Sgt. Andrew Joseph Doiron killed in Iraq
OTTAWA — A huge Canadian flag snapped in the wind Saturday outside an Ottawa cathedral where loved ones and dozens of uniformed soldiers said their goodbyes to the soldier who was killed a week ago in Iraq.
Sgt. Andrew Joseph Doiron, known to those close to him as Drew, died March 6 after his special forces unit was surprised by the crack of gunfire in the nighttime darkness from a group of Kurdish allies.
The peshmerga troops were part of the same local group Canadian soldiers have been assigned to train in the fight against the Islamic State.
Three other Canadian soldiers were wounded in what has been called a friendlyfire incident.
On Saturday, soldiers carried Doiron’s urn to and from the cathedral in a silent, ceremonial manner that unfolded under the watch of a nearby military guard of honour.
Mourners who attended the private funeral service were greeted by a large Canadian flag that was raised across the street.
It hung from the top of two extended fire-truck ladders and was flanked by two other Maple Leafs flying at half-mast.
Doiron’s urn was to be buried later Saturday at the Beechwood National Military Cemetery in Ottawa.
The 31-year-old native of Moncton, N.B., was the first Canadian soldier to die in the country’s military effort in Iraq, which began last fall.
Doiron’s death came just weeks before the military mission in Iraq is set to expire.
The federal government is preparing to announce whether it will extend the campaign and, if so, how the mission might be shaped moving forward.
The elite special forces troops are helping Kurdish peshmerga fighters by guiding airstrikes against Islamic State fighters, a task the government doesn’t consider combat. The Canadian soldiers have also been engaged in at least three firefights after coming under fire near the front line.
The program handed out at the funeral described Doiron as someone who adored skiing, motorcycles, physical fitness training and dogs — especially his “beloved Gretel.”
The biography said Doiron enlisted in the Canadian Forces in 2002 and served with the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in Edmonton.
He was selected to join the Canadian Special Operations Regiment in 2006 after passing the demanding course.
He later completed three tours in Afghanistan. Doiron, the program said, spent a lot of time teaching and mentoring young soldiers.
“Known for his intellect and precision, he was meticulous in thought and action,” the program said. “He was a force that loomed larger than life.”
After the funeral, three members of the Kurdish Youth Association of Canada stood across the street from the cathedral to pay their respects to Doiron.
One young man held a sign that read, “Thank you for your sacrifice” and another man carried a poster that said, “Kurdistan mourns with you.”
“Yes, he died on our soils, but he didn’t die just for Kurdish people — and what he did, it was a heroic action,” said Yusuf Celik, the association’s vice-president.