Military releases name of 6th fallen soldier

The Canadian military has released the name of the sixth soldier killed by a massive roadside bomb on Wednesday in Afghanistan.

Capt. Jefferson Francis was a member of the the 1st Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, based in Shilo, Man.

Also killed were:

• Capt. Matthew Johnathan Dawe of Kingston, Ont.
• Master Cpl. Colin Bason of Abbotsford, B.C.
• Cpl. Jordan Anderson of Iqaluit, Nunavut
• Cpl. Cole Bartsch of Whitecourt, Alta.
• Pte. Lane Watkins of Clearwater, Man.

An Afghan interpreter was also killed.

The Defence Department waited until Thursday to release Francis's name at the request of his family. Anderson's name had also been withheld until earlier Thursday.

Details about Francis were not immediately available Thursday evening, but the stories of the other five soldiers began to emerge.

Anderson, 25, was a member of the Edmonton-based 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry — as were three of the other soldiers who died when their armoured vehicle struck a roadside bomb near Kandahar.

Anderson lived for years in the Northwest Territories, in Tuktoyaktuk and Inuvik. James Anderson said his son's six-month tour was just weeks from ending and he had been expected home in time for his birthday and second wedding anniversary.

He was the first soldier from the North to die on the mission.

'The army was his life'

The father ofanother of the soldiers— Bason, a reservist with the Royal Westminster Regiment —said his son was a history buff who had a great sense of humour and loved to travel and read army books.

Gary Bason said his sonwas a dedicated and patriotic soldier whoknew the risks of Canada's mission in the war-torn country.

"He knew what was up," Bason said from Abbotsford, B.C., the soldier's hometown. "You couldn't talk him out of it. The army was his life and Canada was No. 1."

In February, Bason, 28,and seven other volunteers shipped out for Afghanistan from their regimental hall in New Westminster.

"I know he's gone, but it's what he wanted to do," his fathersaid. "I tip my hat to him, as long as it wasn't wasted."

Bason'slong-time partner, Katrina Blain, said she spoke to Bason just a few days ago. Their daughter, Vienna, who's now seven-months-old, was only four-days-old when Bason shipped off to Afghanistan.

"Myself and his daughter are going to miss him terribly, as well ashis parents and all his family,"Blain said.

"I don't know what we're going to do without him, but he's our hero."

Bason'sfather saidhis sonhadseen the dangerup close in Afghanistan, including a close call in Junewhen three other soldiers died when their M-Gator struck an improvised explosion device, or IED.

"He got out of that vehicle, and they got in it and went down the road,"Bason's fathersaid. "What can you do?"

Dawe a 'superb soldier'

Dawe, Bartsch and Watkins werealso from the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

Dawe, 27, was a graduate of the Royal Military College and the youngest of four brothers who have all served in the military.He was married and had a two-year-old son.

His family didn't speak to the media Thursday but released a prepared statement.

"The pain is incredible and overwhelming but we will get through this," the family wrote. "Matt was a superb soldier. He was very fit and prided himself on leading from the front."

"He loved his soldiers very much and we know that this feeling was reciprocal."

Dawe came from a prominent military family in Kingston, Ont. His father is a retired lieutenant-colonel, and all three older brothers are enlisted with the Canadian Forces. Two of them served in Afghanistan in 2002.

Dawe was reportedly badly shaken when three other Canadian soldiers under his command were killed by a roadside bomb June 20.

The family, in their statement, said he was a dedicated soldier. When he ruptured his Achilles tendon in the months leading up to his deployment to Afghanistan, he tried to recover as fast as possible because he "didn't want his boys to go without him."

Bartsch was a reliable friend

Bartsch enlistedin the army as soon as he finished high school, determined to help his country.His aunt, Karen Shilson, said hewas a much-loved young man whom friends could always count on.

She saidBartsch and his cousin used to spend days camping, fishing and driving all-terrain vehicles in the bush.

"He was always the reliable one," she said in a tearful telephone interview from Calgary.

"He would think nothing of taking the shirt off his back and giving it to you if you needed it worse than him. He was a good kid. He was one you could trust anywhere, anytime."

On the social networking website Facebook, Bartsch's friends described him as a man with a warm spirit and an ability to make people laugh at almost anything.

'He knew what he wanted to do'

Watkins, 20, was a twin. He grew up in thesmall town of Clearwater and attended high school in nearby Pilot Mound. Growing up, he liked to hunt, play hockey and hang out with his friends.

Wade Watson, principal at Pilot Mound Collegiate, recalled that Watkins always wanted a military career.

"That was one of the things, I think, that kept him going through school, was he knew what he wanted when he got out," he said.

"He was a very nice kid, and he knew what he wanted to do, and he was doing what he wanted to do."

Lynn Galbraith, Watkins's English teacher, described him as a "strapping" boy, quiet and a hard worker in her class.

She said shewas stunned to hear her former student had been killed; she had only recently written him a letter, wishing him a safe return. He had been scheduled to return home at the end of July, she said.

"It was staggering,"Galbraith said. "You read about it in the newspaper, but when it hits home, it just sort of rocks you. Especially, again, how young he was."

Edmonton flags at half-mast

Flags flew at half-mast Thursday atCanadian Forces BaseEdmonton as the tight-knitmilitary communitybegan grieving the loss offour more comrades.

"It's sad, but it's a common reality here," said Norma Cartwright, whose husband has been based at CFB Edmonton for more than 20 years.

"That's their job, so you just hopefully get on and say sorry to the families and hopefully we can fix what's over there and get out as fast as we can."

Brig.-Gen. Mark Skidmore, speaking to reporters in Edmonton on Thursday,saidall "brothers and sisters in uniform" were proud to have known the six fallen soldiers.

"We are privileged to have served alongside them and we would be honoured to replace them in their noble cause in the accomplishment of our shared mission," Skidmore, the commander of Land Force Western Area, said.

Deaths 'weigh very heavily on the government': PM

Speaking to reporters in Halifax on Thursday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper paid tribute to the soldiers' courage andoffered his condolences to their families and comrades.

"We consider it a terrible loss whenever we lose someone, but obviously losing six is a terrible tragedy,"the prime ministersaid.

"I'm aware of the pain that causes. I'm alsoaware of the pride they feel for their loved ones who have served this country and are prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice.

"But obviously, casualties weigh very heavily on the government."

About 2,500 Canadians are deployed on the NATO-led mission, mostly in Kandahar.

With the latest deaths, 66 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed in Afghanistansincethe Canada's mission startedin 2002.

Wednesday'slosses mark one of the deadliest days for the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan. In April, six Canadian soldiers were killed when their armoured vehicle struck a roadside bomb west of the city of Kandahar. Four other soldiers inside the LAV III survived the blast.