Cpl. Michael Starker - 15 Fd Amb - 06 May 2008

[old medic]

Fallen soldier begins final journey home.

Canadian corporal on goodwill patrol killed in ambush by Taliban
May 07, 2008 04:45 PM
Murray Brewster
The Canadian Press

KANDAHAR–A Canadian medic killed in a vicious Taliban ambush was celebrated today as a man who had dedicated his “life to protecting and rescuing” those in need.

Cpl. Michael Starker, the 83rd Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan, began his final journey home with a ramp ceremony at Kandahar Airfield that no matter how many times it has been performed never loses its poignancy.

The last whisps of a sandstorm blew across the tarmac in the gathering dusk, as a Bison armoured vehicle carried Starker’s flag-wrapped coffin to edge of a silent phalanx of fellow soldiers.

Starker, 36, of Calgary, was killed yesterday.

He was gunned down in an ambush by insurgents in the Pashmul region of Zhari district, about 25 kilometres outside the city but died later in hospital.

Starker didn’t have to be there, Maj. Pierre Bergeron reflected.

“Cpl. Starker was a good man,” he said.

“He was also a reservist who could have stayed in Canada and continued working as a paramedic, rather he made a choice. He chose to come to Afghanistan and serve and do something to make this world a better place.”

Another soldier wounded with Starker, sat quietly in a wheelchair as eight fellow medics shouldered the coffin into the belly of a Hercules transport for the flight back to Canada.

A man of humble nature, with charisma, a gift for humour and the ``ability to hang in there until he had made you smile or laugh,” was how the deputy Canadian padre Maj. Jim Short described Starker.

He says the 36-year-old’s “potent skills” as a paramedic instilled confidence in those who knew him and served with him.

Bergeron invoked passages from the poem In Flanders Fields, written over 90 years ago during the First World War by an army surgeon, Lt.-Col. John McCrae.

“We are the dead; short days ago we lived, felt dawn and watched the sunset glow,” Bergeron said, his voice cascading from a loudspeaker across the silent desert as the last light of this day flickered away.

The Canadian army is investigating the circumstances surrounding the ambush, which took place in a sector that has been repeatedly clearled of insurgents over the last two years.

Few details have been provided.

Although ambushes happen routinely, it’s nearly 20 months since a Canadian soldier died as the result of direct gun battle with insurgents. The Taliban have preferred to use improvised explosives or roadside bombs to kill and maim, not only soldiers, but civilians as well.

Starker was part of a Civil-Military Co-operation team that goes village to village talking with local Afghans and bringing their concerns back to Canadian commanders.

It was that spirit Bergeron summoned as thousands of NATO troops — Canadian, British, American, Romanian Dutch — saluted the coffin as it was marched slowly down the tarmac to a piper’s lament.

“As Michael passes before us one last time, it is with respect and dignity that we honour his life and his dedication to protecting and rescuing those in need,” said the senior padre.

Starker was married but had no children.

 

[old medic]

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080508/ambush_afghan_080508/20080508?hub=World
Canadian Press Article.

Afghan ambush unfolded within sight of forward base

Updated Thu. May. 8 2008 11:46 AM ET

The Canadian Press

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- The ambush that took the life of Sgt. Michael Starker unfolded within sight of a heavily defended Canadian forward operating base, much to the horror and dismay of his fellow soldiers and a long-time friend.

Master Cpl. Fabio Lacentra, 40, had known Starker for 10 years, serving with him both in the reserves and as emergency medical technicians in Calgary.

The sharp crackle of the fierce exchange was the first indication to troops at Masum Ghar, about 35 kilometres west of Kandahar, that something was up. "We could see it from where we were; we could see the firefight going on," said Lacentra, a medic with the 15th Field Ambulance evacuation platoon.

He was standing in the command post when the base commander ran out and mounted one of the bastion's walls to get a view of what was going on.

"You could see his concern," Lacentra recalled in an interview Thursday with The Canadian Press.

The radio began to chatter.

There were wounded.

How bad?

When the answer came back, Lacentra turned to the soldiers beside him.

"I said: 'You know a gunshot wound is never a good thing."'

His training as an ambulance technician had kicked in.

"We knew it was Canadians and I guess I was, without even consciously doing it, was trying to prepare these guys. I just said that kind of gunshot wound doesn't end up with a good result."

At the time, Lacentra didn't know it was his friend, the guy with whom he had worked out at the gym every day during training in Edmonton, the guy whom he clearly looked up to as a paramedic, a soldier and a person of "amazing character and strength."

Starker, 36, was evacuated by helicopter to the NATO military hospital at Kandahar Airfield along with a second unidentified soldier, who was also wounded. Doctors pronounced Starker dead at the Role 3 treatment centre.

The ambush on Tuesday, the first shooting death of a Canadian soldier in direct combat with the enemy in almost 20 months, is still under investigation by military police.

It was very quiet that evening in the vehicle when Lacentra drove with other troops back to the airfield, where the majority of Canada's 2,500 troops in Afghanistan are stationed.

Once in a while, the cheerful Italian-immigrant to Canada, who possesses an easy smile, likes to sing in the car.

"So when we got just close to KAF actually one of the guys said: 'Hey Fabio why don't you sing us a song."'

He did, but his heart was only in it for a few minutes.

His mind was on Starker.

"I kind of knew it was him, but I hoped it was somebody else. Right? That's not a good thing to say," he added with tears beginning in the corners of his eyes.

"I didn't believe it was him because I know how well trained Mike is. He's an ex-sniper. I just kept thinking it was someone else because there was no way Mike would get shot that way."

Back inside the wire, he heard the news from a nurse at the Role 3 hospital.

It struck like a bolt of lightning.

He had seen Starker only last Saturday when they spent four hours together unloading medical supplies.

Since his friend's death, Lacentra has spent a lot of time thinking about the ambulance calls the two of them occasionally went on together in Calgary.

There was the time Lacentra had been doing his practicum and wanted to impress both his instructor and Starker, who was driving, by inserting an intravenous line in patient as they were rolling back to hospital. They hit a bump and Lacentra missed.

"And I looked up and said 'Thanks' and he's looking at me. I pictured it the other day, I could see him. He had his face . . . turned looking at me with a crook smile."

Lacentra got the lesson: Don't be cocky.

"That was the kind of thing he'd do; he wouldn't tell you, don't do this and he wouldn't purposely try to make you fail, but when it did happen, just the look, you could see it on his face. I should have known better."

Starker, a reservist and ex-paratrooper, had personal reasons for returning to Afghanistan, Lacentra said.

"He didn't have to be here, but he wanted to serve," he said.

Lacentra, who served as a peacekeeper in 1992 as the Balkans was coming apart at the seams, is by no means naive about the risks.

But the sudden brutality of the ambush that killed his friend is hard to reconcile with the faces of grateful, dirt poor Afghans who cheer on the Canadians when they pass.

"Watching the firefight changed my perspective" about the country, he said. "It made things more real."

"You see lots of kids, waving at you; happy and smiling; even adults. And you don't feel there's any real danger. You know what's happened. You hear about some of the stuff that's happened, but you don't feel it at that moment in time."

 

[Nfld Sapper]

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- The ambush that took the life of Sgt. Michael Starker unfolded within sight of a heavily defended Canadian forward operating base, much to the horror and dismay of his fellow soldiers and a long-time friend.

Anyone else notice this?

 

[Nfld Sapper]

DND Media Advisory

Media Advisory
Fallen soldier returning home
MA 08-006 - May 8, 2008

OTTAWA, Ont. — Our fallen soldier, Corporal Michael Gunter Starker, a member of 15 Field Ambulance, based in Edmonton, is scheduled to return home to Canada Friday, May 9, 2008. Corporal Starker was a reservist from Calgary, Alberta.

Where: 8 Wing Trenton, Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ontario.

When: Friday, May 9, 2008, 2:00 p.m.

What: At the wishes of the family, there will be no media permitted on the tarmac and no interviews will be given.

Present to pay their respects will be the Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and other dignitaries.

Corporal Starker was killed at approximately 11:45 a.m., May 6, 2008, when the patrol he was with came under fire.

-30-

Note to the Editor/News Director:

Interested media must contact Capt. Nicole Meszaros, 8 Wing/CFB Trenton Public Affairs Officer, who can be reached at (613) 392-2811 ext. 2041, mobile (613) 391-5233 or at: meszaros.nl@forces.gc.ca.
Inquiries regarding the deceased or the funeral ceremony may be addressed to Captain Peter Fuerbringer, 41 Canadian Brigade Group Public Affairs Officer (403) 921-7525 or at Fuerbringer.pd@forces.gc.ca

For all other queries, please contact the Media Liaison Office at (866) 377-0811.

For flight information, contact the Air Passenger Terminal at 1-800-487-1186.

 

[old medic]

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080509/medic_afghanistan_080509/20080509?hub=Canada

Body of medic returns Friday from Afghanistan

Updated Fri. May. 9 2008 8:29 AM ET

The Canadian Press

CFB TRENTON -- Paramedics and the family of the latest Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan will gather at CFB Trenton on Friday afternoon.

Cpl. Michael Starker was a Calgary-based medic and paramedics from across the region are expected to attend the repatriation ceremony along with Defence Minister Peter Mackay. The 36-year-old reservist was the 83rd Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan. He died Tuesday in southern Afghanistan when his patrol came under fire during an ambush.

Starker is survived by his wife Nicole, his parents Gunther and Helen and sister Carolyn.

His family issued a statement saying: "Mike loved being a paramedic with Calgary EMS and loved being a soldier in the Canadian Forces, especially his time in the Canadian Airborne Regiment."

"Michael died doing what he loved. In his heart, he was a soldier and in his blood, a paramedic. But soldiering wasn't the only thing that Mike gave his heart to. He gave his heart and soul to his wife, parents, family and friends."

It was Starker's second tour of Afghanistan and he was eager to go last February.

Lt.-Col. Roger Scott, commanding officer of 15 Field Ambulance, says Starker had been putting his name in for just about every deployment opportunity that had come up in the past few years and so when the people did get chosen he was really happy to be going.

In Calgary, the Canadian and regimental flag outside the office of 15 Field Ambulance is hanging at half mast.

 

[old medic]

http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/National/2008/05/08/5512031.html
From Yesterday's Calgary Sun

Ontario paramedics to pay respects to fallen Calgary soldier
UPDATED: 2008-05-08 17:23:40 MST
By DOUG McINTYRE, Sun Media

Ambulances will line the Highway of Heroes tomorrow as grieving family members of a Calgary reservist killed in Afghanistan watch their fallen loved one returned to Canadian soil.

The repatriation ceremony, noon Calgary time at CFB Trenton, Ont., comes three days after full-time paramedic Cpl. Michael Starker, 36, was slain by Taliban insurgents while on patrol east of Kandahar.

Starker will be the second Afghanistan casualty from Calgary to officially travel the Highway of Heroes since the stretch of Hwy. 401 from Trenton to Toronto was renamed by the Ontario government.

The sombre procession will provide a poignant salute to Starker’s career as a paramedic, with EMS personnel from eastern Ontario standing on guard at overpasses along the full length of the 170-km route.

“They’re going all out to show support — it makes you proud to be a Canadian,” said Capt. Nicole Meszaros, public affairs officer with 8 Wing/CFB Trenton.


“The emergency services people of eastern Ontario are also going to line the road from the base to the 401 with 16 ambulances.”

Such a stirring tribute strongly resonates with Calgary EMS Chief Tom Sampson, who flew to Toronto today.

“I’m overwhelmed by the level of support by the EMS right across Canada,” he said.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay will be on the tarmac tomorrow to pay respects to Starker, a medic with Edmonton-based 15 Field Ambulance Regiment and a former Canadian Airborne paratrooper.

EMS is working with the military and Starker’s family to prepare a public funeral in Calgary, said Sampson.

In the meantime, a memorial and book of condolences has been set up in the atrium of city hall.

Omar Samad, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Canada, met with some of Starker’s military and paramedic colleagues today to offer his respects.

“He most certainly represents the best that Canada offers,” said Samad, adding Starker’s role as a medic is one highly-prized by Afghans.

“His skills are needed in Afghanistan — we’re touched and saddened by this loss and the other losses.”

Starker is the fourth Calgarian and 83rd Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan.

Another local fallen soldier, 24-year-old Cpl. Nathan Hornburg, last September became the first Canadian casualty of the Afghanistan mission to officially travel the Highway of Heroes.

— with files by Bill Kaufmann

 

[Civvymedic]

We have planned a very large turnout of Paramedics along the 401 Highway for this afternoon. MP Bev Oda has provided us many flags,Support our troops ribbons etc.

The road between Trenton and the 401 should be completely covered with Paramedics and EMS vehicles.

There will be 2 Toronto EMS units in the procession. 1 Ambulance driven by a Toronto Paramedic and Reservist to represent the respect of Canadian Paramedics and a white SUV with the chief of Calgary EMS.

DND public affairs has been extremely helpful in the planning and updates of all this.

Incredible.

Much respect for everyone involved

 

[ENGINEERS WIFE]

Civvymedic,  I will be at the Vic Park overpass and I am bringing extra flags because I thought there will be lots more EMS and I'm sure they will want to borrow one.  See everyone out there.

 

[Civvymedic]

That should be a good spot.

I will be at the Harwood ave. Overpass.Most off duty Durham medics have been told to meet there. We should, taking into account operational requirements have every bridge in Durham covered.

 

[old medic]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/05/09/soldier-trenton.html

Fallen Calgary soldier returns home
Last Updated: Friday, May 9, 2008 | 3:52 PM ET

The body of a Calgary soldier killed in southern Afghanistan returned to Canada on Friday.

A military plane carrying the remains of Cpl. Michael Starker touched down at Canadian Forces Base Trenton in eastern Ontario. As bagpipes played, soldiers in uniform carried Starker's flag-draped casket out of the plane and into a hearse.

Starker, 36, was ambushed and killed Tuesday while conducting a foot patrol in the Pashmul region, outside Kandahar City. Another Canadian soldier was injured in the attack, but is expected to recover.

Starker was a medic and reservist with the Alberta-based 15 Field Ambulance and had been providing medical assistance to his fellow soldiers in Afghanistan since December. It was his second tour of duty in the wartorn country.

Born and raised in Calgary, Starker worked as a paramedic in the city, where he lived with his wife, Nicole.

He was the 83rd Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan since the mission began in 2002.

 

[old medic]

http://torontosun.com/News/Canada/2008/05/10/5525926-sun.html
Toronto Sun

Fallen paramedic saluted
CFB Trenton pays tribute to Afghan veteran

By CAITLIN DEN BOER AND LUKE HENDRY, SUN MEDIA

CFB TRENTON -- A "brotherhood" of paramedics dedicated to caring for others tended to one of its own here yesterday.

Paramedics from across southern, central, and eastern Ontario gathered here yesterday to honour the memory of Cpl. Michael Gunter Starker.

The 36-year-old married Calgary paramedic was a reservist medic with Edmonton's 15th Field Ambulance unit. He was killed May 6 in combat in Afghanistan, becoming the 83rd soldier and 84th Canadian killed there since 2002.

As at past repatriations, members of Hastings-Quinte Emergency Medical Services stood at the base and along local roads to provide a quiet show of solidarity.

Joanna Pollock of Calgary Emergency Medical Services worked for about a year and a half with Starker.

"I'm just here to show my support," said Pollock, who had been visiting friends in Ottawa when she learned Starker had been killed.

Yesterday, she attached a large poster of Starker to an ambulance on a Trenton bridge. The poster showed Starker wearing his desert combat fatigues while standing next to an ambulance.

It made for an eerie sight. As Starker's hearse passed by a row of paramedics standing on the road, his image stared out from the poster.

"I think everyone of us would be honoured to see the kind of support that is here today," said Pollock when asked what her colleague would have thought of the EMS presence.

"It's been hard in Calgary, but everyone is really appreciative of the support out here. It's great."

Off-duty paramedics and vehicles from Northumberland County to the Leeds-Grenville area would stand with their vehicles at every major intersection between the base and Highway 401, the so-called Highway of Heroes.

Roger Litwiller of the Hastings-Quinte Paramedic Association has co-ordinated past paramedic presence at repatriations. He said given Starker's trade there was interest from paramedics who aren't based along Highway 401.

"It's always hard to leave someone in your own profession, and unfortunately nationally we lose at least one paramedic a year in line-of-duty deaths. People don't realize that," said Litwiller.

"It's not something as a paramedic you think about happening to yourself, but when it does happen to a brother or a sister it hits home."

Though not involved directly in combat, Canadian Forces medics are "very much in harm's way," said Litwiller.

Four Hastings-Quinte EMS staff blocked traffic along Highway 2 at the base as Starker's hearse began its trip to Toronto, where post-mortem examinations are conducted on all overseas casualties.

Brighton paramedic Troy Ward works in Belleville and said Starker's death has been discussed around the EMS base, but not at great length.

"It's more of an internal thought," he said. "You kind of sit and have your own little moment of bereavement about it, but you talk about it only briefly."

Mark Schjerning, a paramedic from Sydenham north of Kingston, is based in Belleville with H-Q EMS. He was at a provincial EMS conference in Toronto when word of Starker's death was received.

A minute of silence was held, he said, and paramedics began talking about how they might approach the repatriation.

He described the field as being a closely knit "brotherhood."

Plans to attend the repatriation continued until after midnight Thursday night at the local EMS office, he said.

"This gentleman volunteered his time to go and help others, and unfortunately he paid the biggest sacrifice and the ultimate price," said Dave Valdes, a Trenton-based paramedic who lives in Brighton.

He and Schjerning said paramedics are a relatively new emergency service, and are not simply ambulance drivers.

Schjerning said they continue to have a somewhat "unsung" status compared to firefighters and police, but that their public profile is now starting to increase.

"You do the job because you enjoy it," added Ward.

 

[old medic]

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/durham/article/98687

Paramedics proud to honour fallen soldier
Durham EMS travelled to Trenton to show support
Sat May 10 2008
By Stephanie Swinson

DURHAM -- “It’s the least we could do,” said Dave Mokedanz of Durham EMS,
as he followed behind other emergency vehicles in the procession from Trenton Air Base.

Durham EMS was just one of many paramedic services to travel to Trenton on
Friday to pay respects to one of their own.

Cpl. Michael Starker was killed Tuesday when a Canadian foot patrol was ambushed
in Zharey district outside of Kandahar.

Cpl. Starker was not only a reservist but also a paramedic for the City of Calgary.

25 vehicles lined the bridge leading to the Highway of Heroes as the procession from the
repatriation ceremony at Trenton Air Base passed by en route to Toronto.

In total, 11 different emergency medical services from across the province were represented,
including a member of Calgary EMS.

Joanna Pollock was in the Ottawa area when she heard that her co-worker had been killed.

“It definitely hits home,” Ms. Pollock said. “Back in Calgary, there’s a lot of people who are really
broken up about it. We all really appreciate the show of support.”

As the procession passed through Durham region, it was clear the support from paramedics wasn’t just felt in Trenton.

There was an ambulance at almost every bridge over Hwy 401.

Advanced care paramedic Murray Martin waited at the Harwood Avenue overpass.

“We won’t forget,” Mr. Martin said. “We’re here to honour him.”

Mr. Mokedanz left the procession as it drove past Whites Road in Pickering.

It was important for him to have Durham EMS escort Cpl. Starker through Durham region, he said.

“Toronto will take care of him now,” Mr. Mokedanz said as he began to exit the highway. “We just wanted to make sure we could properly show support to the family of Cpl. Starker while they’re driving through.”

VIDEO LINK
http://www.mediamash.ca/media/3806/Paramedics_Pay_Respects_to_Fallen_Soldier/

 

[old medic]

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=0abde548-dbf0-4d6a-b577-980b7974df44#

Wife's grace masks her pain
Valerie Fortney, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Saturday, May 10, 2008

She stands straight, her head held high, one hand clutching a single, perfect rose. Dark sunglasses don't shield her eyes, a courageous gesture for someone who knows millions are watching her.

The only giveaway to Nicole Starker's unfathomable grief is her lower lip that quivers with such ferocity at times it appears as though she is murmuring to herself.

Other than this one involuntary physical response, the pretty woman widowed far too young gives an exemplary lesson in grace under unimaginable pressure.

She shows the strength of character her friends cite as one of her many positive qualities.

It must seem all too surreal on Friday, then, as she stands under a makeshift white tent, positioned at the front of a group of her and her husband's family, watching a military plane unload a flag-draped casket containing the body of
Cpl. Michael Starker, the 83rd Canadian and fourth Calgary soldier to die in Afghanistan.

On Tuesday morning, Nicole, a publicist for E! Network National, was walking into her office at the Global TV offices in Calgary. One of her colleagues yelled out, "Have a great day, Nicole!" and she responded in kind.

She was excitedly marking down the days until she'd meet her husband Michael in Africa, the dream-of-a-lifetime trip to celebrate his upcoming leave from duty in Afghanistan.

Less than an hour later, Nicole would be escorted into the office of a colleague who was away on a business trip. The door would close, and she would get the devastating news from a military team that included a chaplain, that her paramedic-reservist husband was killed that day while on a community outreach mission.

Barely 72 hours later, she and Michael's closest loved ones are in Trenton, Ont., a community two hours east of Toronto, where the biggest employers are Quaker Oats, Nestle and Canadian Forces Base Trenton.

At noon Calgary time, the heartbreaking ritual known in military-speak as the "repatriation ceremony" for Michael's body begins.

Thanks to my colleagues at Global TV (the Herald, Global and E! Entertainment Network are owned by parent company Canwest Global Communications), I am able to watch the entire ceremony free of commercial breaks and cutaways to other local lunchtime news.

It's a hectic scene in the newsroom, as people working on the noon show rush back and forth, and one TV monitor shows live footage of firefighters rescuing stranded workers from the top of Bankers Hall (yet another reminder of everyday heroics).

Still, it's easy to blot out all distractions thanks to the moving events unfolding live from Trenton.

White-haired veterans with chests full of medals; middle-aged couples dressed head-to-toe in red and waving large Canadian flags; and moms with their tots all mingle on the other side of the flag-dotted barbed-wire fence that overlooks the drama.

Inside, a procession of military personnel wearing a wide variety of uniforms files into position as a lone bagpiper plays. Nicole stands alone, her relatives a few steps behind her, the women each holding a single rose.

A woman dressed in black steps forward and escorts Nicole to the back of the black hearse in which the casket has been gently set by the eight young, uniformed, white-gloved pallbearers. She says her goodbyes, places the rose on the casket, then turns away to weep as a man puts his right arm around her shoulder.

A chaplain gives her a hug, and she shows her courage once again, offering him a warm smile.

If there is any comfort at all to be had in a time of such great sorrow, it is that others, near and far, are feeling the loss on this day.

While I watch the live feed of the ceremony in the Global newsroom, Nicole's colleagues are viewing it on another television downstairs. Afterwards, one colleague, who had earlier agreed to make a few comments, is too overwhelmed. "It's too tough, too raw right now," he says, acknowledging that the mood among her closest work friends is one of deep sadness.

At City Hall, paramedic Brent Thorkelson stands guard beside a condolence book that is already close to full.

Thorkelson, a friend of fellow paramedic Michael Starker, lets me thumb through the book, which has page upon page of expressions from the heart: "This is a great loss to the city"; "thank you for your love of your country and your love for all mankind"; "too young and too soon."

One note jumps out from the rest: "As I said goodbye to my children this morning, I said 'Thank you, Michael,' for letting them grow up in a safer world."

It is at once a very private and public grief. While those who knew and loved Michael Starker are feeling it most, there are thousands willing to help shoulder at least some of the burden for the loss of a true hero.

vfortney@theherald.canwest.com

 

[MedTechStudent]

To be a full time paramedic, and turn around and join the CF Reserves, is an amazing thing to do.  This man went over when he did not have to, served his country not because the government printed his paychecks, but because of his patriotism and love for country.  Truly an amazing soldier I'm in awe.

Rest In Peace Cpl.

 

[old medic]

Always a soldier
Cpl. Michael Starker was a born soldier, a true leader and driven by his duty to serve others
Sarah McGinnis and Gwendolyn Richards, Calgary Herald
Published: Sunday, May 11, 2008

The staccato sound of rapid shots firing pierced the midday air as Taliban forces ambushed a cluster of Canadian soldiers.

At the heavily defended Canadian operating base more than a kilometre away, the exchange of gunfire crackled and radios buzzed with calls for support.

Master Cpl. Fabio Lacentra helplessly watched the dust and smoke rising from the scene.

Although he couldn't pick out individuals on the ground, Lacentra had a sense that his old friend, Cpl. Mike Starker, was in trouble.

A member of the 15 Field Ambulance reserve unit, Mike Starker volunteered for every available posting to serve in the war in Afghanistan.

He offered to serve as a medic or in the infantry. He just wanted to serve, in some way.

Starker, 36, had just bought a new house with his wife Nicole and the couple were preparing to start a family when the letter that he had waited two years to receive finally arrived.

The Calgary paramedic, who was once an elite soldier, had been selected for deployment in Afghanistan.

It was now his time.

Two years ago, Starker added his thoughts to an online tribute to another soldier, Sgt. Vaughn Ingram , killed in Afghanistan.

"Vaughn you will be missed . . . thank you for the great memories in the time we served together . . . 'Jambo'. . . Rest in Peace brother," he wrote, signing simply Mike Starker (Calgary, AB).

Two other members of Starker's former unit -- the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry -- died in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on Aug. 4, 2006.

Starker left the forces years earlier, after his Canadian Airborne Regiment was disbanded in 1995 and he was sent back to the infantry.

But he never let go of his military past, wearing his airborne shirt around the house, drinking coffee from a unit mug.

And the continuing loss of his military brothers in Afghanistan had a profound effect on him.

See SOLDIER, Page B2

"I think he feels like he should have been there to be with them," said Bob McGonigal, of Windsor, Ont. whose son was one of Starker's best friends.

Rob Jabs, a close friend and fellow paramedic talked to Starker at length about his decision to deploy, telling him he'd already done his time.

But Starker was always a soldier first.

"This was a guy forged in the fires of combat. He felt an obligation and a sense of duty," Jabs said.

And now, as a paramedic with Calgary EMS, Starker felt he had the skills to help save his friends' lives should the worst happen -- even if he had to put his own life on hold to do it.

"They talked about trying to have kids before. Then, when this came up, they said we'll hold off until he gets back," said Ray Seguin, Starker's brother-in-law.

"This was supposed to be his last tour."

At work with Calgary EMS, Starker always had his uniform pressed and his boots shined.

His tattoos -- ink images up both arms -- were covered by navy blue shirts with cuffs coming down to his wrists, even in the sweltering heat of summer.

He wanted his patients to be comfortable and worried someone would be scared by the tattoos.

There was a respect for his profession as a paramedic and for the patients he treated, Jabs said.

Starker may have been a hardened soldier, "but you could put him in the back of a truck with a scared grandma and he could show such compassion and sensitivity to those who needed it," he said.

After leaving his regular forces military career, Starker tried his hand as a welder, but found it wasn't, in his words, stressful enough.

He then entered the EMS field, working as an emergency medical technician in Kananaskis Country where he met Jabs in 2004.

Essentially attached at the hip during shifts that stretched up to 48 hours, they should have fought like cats and dogs, Jabs said.

Instead, he looked forward to the work because he could spend time with Starker.

When Starker decided to become a paramedic, he approached it with the same drive he had for everything else. He raced through a year-long university-level biology course in one month, scoring 90 per cent for his final grade.

Despite his accomplishments, Starker remained humble.

"It would always be me or his other friends that bragged for him," Jabs said.

As Tracy Martell stared at the television screen while a newscaster described the latest Canadian casualty, she realized it was the same student who once sat in front of her in math at Henry Wise Wood High School.

Martell wasn't surprised to hear Starker had pursued a career in the military.

"He wore combat boots and his cadet gear to school sometimes. It was just who he was," she said.

After graduating high school in 1990, Starker made a bee line for the Canadian Armed Forces. He was 18 when he enlisted.

The young man with a mischievous smile soon headed off to battle school where he met fellow soldier Bob McGonigal. The two bonded for life.

They were both stationed in Ontario with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and Starker would spend his weekend passes with McGonigal's family in Windsor.

Starker soon found a second home in the clan that already included two sons and a daughter.

"We called him our third son," said Bob McGonigal's father, who shares the same name.

It was through this second family that Starker encountered his future bride.

His buddy's sister was coming to CFB Petawawa for a visit and brought her friend Nicole along for the ride.

Since Starker and McGonigal were almost inseparable, the meeting was inevitable.

Still, Starker wasn't exactly the "preppy" guy Nicole usually went for, said Seguin, Nicole's brother.

"Mike was definitely a Calgary boy. I remember the first day I met him -- the cowboy boots, the big belt buckle, the big 4 x 4 with the whipper antennas," he said of the introduction 15 years ago -- about five years before the couple wed.

"I liked him from the moment I met him."

Starker wasn't walking into the most treacherous territory in Afghanistan when he was ambushed last week.

The Pashmul region, about 35 kilometres from Kandahar, had been the scene of fierce battles, including guerrilla-style attacks in the fall of 2006. But officials had seen changes recently as the locals returned.

"We see more farmers. We have seen people interacting with us everyday," said Brig.-Gen. Guy Laroche, commanding general of Task Force Afghanistan.

Starker and the other Canadians soldiers were on a civil-military co-operation patrol with the Afghan National Security Forces.

Like cops walking the beat, they were on foot talking with locals about security and social concerns.

At 11:45 a.m. local time Tuesday, enemy fire broke out. The details of the ambush are slow to emerge but Starker was hit in the exchange and another soldier injured.

Back in Calgary, it was still early morning when a Blackberry buzzed.

Col. Art Wriedt answered it with dread.

As commander of 41 Canadian Brigade Group, Wriedt is the first local military official to receive a call if a Calgary soldier is killed in action.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't go to bed every night and hope that Blackberry doesn't go off," said Wriedt. "I pray to God that we don't take casualties."

Wriedt's prayers weren't answered this time.

Cpl. Michael Starker had just been killed in action, a distant voice explained.

His family needed to be notified.

As Starker's body was being flown back to Canada on Wednesday, grief started to ripple across the country.

On the Internet, groups dedicated to Starker were created and memorials began to fill with messages of loss and of thanks.

"Mike, you were born a leader and I am honoured to have known you," firefighter Brad Olsen wrote in an online book of condolences.

Facebook groups in memory of Cpl. Mike Starker flowed with messages of grief from comrades in Afghanistan unable to follow him home for the funeral, while clusters of flowers and homemade cards piled up in an impromptu memorial at Calgary EMS headquarters.

Sorrow is particularly profound at Station 26, the joint fire, police and ambulance detachment in Midnapore where Starker worked.

Olsen shared many late night chats with the paramedic even though they worked in different fields. He said "Mikey" was a real fixture at the station.

"There were some days we would come here and start our shift and Mikey was already cooking. That was unheard of."

What set him apart from others was that Starker never seemed to heed the unspoken rivalry between medics and fire fighters, said Olsen.

He would hang out with anyone up for a laugh. And when the practical joker was around hijinks ensued.

Anyone who left their food for more than five minutes would later regret it. Starker was known for dousing unattended meals with hot sauce and would wait, poker faced, for the inevitable result.

Olsen was still waiting for retribution from a prank he pulled on Starker, switching his beloved hard boiled eggs with raw ones, leaving the paramedic with a sticky mess instead of lunch.

"For the two years I've known him, I've never seen that guy have a bad day. He's always looking for a positive angle. He's like one of those guys you are drawn to. Pure positive energy," Olsen said.

"Knowing he's not coming back . . . it's surreal."

Jabs, who called Starker his best friend, found himself with the painful task of explaining to his four-year-old daughter why Uncle Mike wouldn't be coming back.

Uncle Mike had been killed, he said, while helping the people over in Afghanistan.

"She summed it up: Why would you hurt someone who's helping you? I could not, for the life of me, give her an answer," Jabs said, tears welling.

In a few weeks Starker was supposed to swap the dusty Afghan landscape for the waters off South Africa.

He was eagerly anticipating the leave that would marked the halfway point of his deployment.

He and his wife Nicole had planned the vacation of a lifetime.

Starker wanted to get in an underwater cage and have an up close look at a great white shark, he wrote in an e-mail to Bob McGonigal Sr.

Starker seemed less scared about those sorts of things now, he said.

"I just got the e-mail from him over there and I sent one back to him," said McGonigal, who is now preparing to fly from Windsor to Calgary for Starker's funeral.

"He probably never even got it."

On Friday , a sombre ceremony on the CFB Trenton tarmac marked Starker's return to Canada.

Awaiting his remains were his wife, parents, sister and close friends.

Ambulances and emergency services personnel lined the road from the base to the Highway 401 to honour the fallen paramedic and soldier.

Funeral plans are still being made for Starker.

Jabs isn't sure what his friend would make of all the ceremony.

A humble, unassuming man, Starker was never one for the spotlight.

Jabs understands the national attention that comes from a soldier dying while serving his country but he wishes his friend was returning home safe as planned.

"I'd rather have my buddy come back in obscurity."

With files From Canwest News Service
smcginnis@theherald.canwest.com
grichards@theherald.canwest.com

 

[old medic]

http://www.660news.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20080513_012538_6648

Funeral for Corporal Michael Starker

May 12, 2008 - 11:00 pm
660News Staff

Funeral plans have been made for a Calgary solider and EMS worker killed last week in Afghanistan.

Corporal Michael Starker will be laid to rest on Friday May 16th, at 2 p.m. at the Round-up Centre.

The ceremony will be open to the public.

The family has also requested that any donations in Corporal Starker's honour - be made to the Poppy Fund or the Samaritans Purse.

 

[old medic]

http://emscc.ca/blog/    EMS Chiefs of Canada

A public funeral service for Calgary EMS paramedic Michael Starker will take place on Friday May 16, 2008 at 2:00 PM (Mountain Time). Cpl. Starker was killed in Afghanistan serving his country as a medic reservist with the Canadian Forces. The service will take place in Calgary, Alberta at the Calgary Stampede Grounds in the Roundup Centre Hall “D”. The funeral is expected to attract over 3,000 people including local, regional and national dignitaries as well as representatives from Canadian Forces, Emergency Medical Services and a variety of other emergency services personnel.

Government, emergency services and other organizational representatives are asked to confirm their attendance by contacting Petra Horning, Executive Assistant to Chief Tom Sampson at 403-813-7657 or 403-538-7607.

Calgary EMS has arranged for discounts at several area hotels and for airfare discounts at WestJet and Air Canada. For more information on these discounts see below:

Corporal Michael Starker Funeral Arrangements       

    * Date: Friday, May 16, 2008 
    * Time: 14:00 
    * Location: Stampede Roundup Centre Hall D     
    * Address: #100, 3705 35th Street NE

EMS Contact Information

    * Name:  Petra Horning
    * Phone: (403)538-7605
    * Phone (cell):    (403)813-7657
    * Email:  Petra.Horning@calgary.ca

 

[old medic]

http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/Platt_Michael/2008/05/14/5561216-sun.php

Wed, May 14, 2008
Widow says fallen soldier avoided limelight
UPDATED: 2008-05-14 02:53:27 MST
By MICHAEL PLATT

Cpl. Michael Starker would have hated it, to be paraded through town and hailed as a war hero, with the entire nation looking on.

But then, as Nicole Starker explained, the Calgary paramedic killed last week in an Taliban ambush expected to come home from Afghanistan just as he went -- quietly, and alive.

"In his true fashion he said, 'Nothing is going to happen to me; there's nothing to worry about,' " said Nicole, speaking publicly for the first time since her husband's death on May 5.

The 35-year-old widow said she had talked with Michael about the danger if he volunteered to serve as a medic in the war zone, but she truly believed he'd return home to her, safe and sound.

"It's probably a conversation every spouse has with their significant other who goes over," said Nicole.

"I honestly just thought he was too good a guy for anything really to happen to him."

Starker was shot while on foot patrol not far from a Canadian military base, becoming the 83rd Canadian to die in Afghanistan.

Yesterday, Nicole and Michael's sister, Carolyn Straub, sat together in a Mewata Armoury chamber, surrounded by hardware-filled trophy cases from Calgary's military past, as well as a throng of reporters.

Both sister and wife agreed that the paramedic-turned-medic would have loathed the pomp, circumstance and national attention since his death -- in life, he preferred to stay coy about his military service.

"He was never boastful and really quiet and never bragged about going -- people often wouldn't know he was going unless they asked him straight out," said Nicole.

Starker's sister said the situation would have made her brother squirm.

"He was humble guy -- I think he'd be laughing his ass off right now, saying I don't know why you guys are making a big deal of this," said Straub.

"He'd be uncomfortable," added Nicole.

"He'd be very uncomfortable," said Straub.

On Friday afternoon, Starker will be honoured at a unique public funeral service saluting the 36-year-old's connection to both the military and Calgary EMS.

Following a public 2 p.m. service at the Roundup Centre, a procession will run from the Stampede Grounds to City Hall.

The paramedic's casket will be carried through Calgary by an ambulance, surrounded by a military escort and City of Calgary EMS comrades.

Straub said the ceremony is more than just a farewell to a fun-loving, gregarious man -- it's about saluting her brother's devotion to his country, and his drive to serve his nation.

"He died for his country, so it's nice to involve the country in a farewell, so they don't forget," she said.

Last Friday, a repatriation ceremony was held at CFB Trenton with Nicole and other relatives in attendance, marking Starker's return to Canadian soil.

Straub said her parents are taking his death very hard.

"It's really affected our family a lot -- my family is devastated beyond means," she said.

"No parent should have to bury their child."

Nicole said the loss of her husband hasn't changed her mind about the value of Canada's role in Afghanistan, and she still supports the mission.

"I support Canada as a peacekeeping nation and what happened to Mike hasn't changed that for me," said Nicole.

Nicole said her husband volunteered to serve, believing he could combine his training as a paramedic and infantry soldier to really make a difference for those fighting overseas.

"Mike truly was compassionate," said Nicole.

The young widow said Starker's funeral is keeping her occupied, and her mind is on the task at hand.

"Mike and I were pretty good team, and my job as part of the team now, is to get this thing done," she said.

Nicole said she's both looking forward to getting the funeral finished, and dreading the moment it is over.

"Yes, because this is a stressful and very emotional time and no, because I don't want to say goodbye."

 

[old medic]

http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Alberta/2008/05/15/5571741-sun.html

Thu, May 15, 2008
'Route of Valour' to follow funeral
UPDATED: 2008-05-15 02:14:56 MST
By DAVE DORMER

Calgarians wishing to pay their respects to a local soldier killed in the line of duty are being encouraged to take to the streets.

A large procession along what's being called the "Route of Valour" is planned following tomorrow's funeral service for Cpl. Michael Starker, the Calgary paramedic killed while on patrol in Afghanistan last week.

Calgary's EMS Chief Tom Sampson, awed by the show of support along the Highway of Heroes in Ontario, hopes Calgarians will be on hand in large numbers for the tribute.

"I had the honour of going to Trenton and I was absolutely amazed -- in the hour and a half it took us to get from Trenton to Toronto, we went under probably 125 overpasses and on every one of them there were people," Sampson said.

"I'm hoping we can generate that same level because this was a native Calgarian."

Starker was the fourth Calgarian and 83rd Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan.

Following tomorrow's funeral service at the Roundup Centre, hundreds of uniformed members from the military and city emergency services will march from the Stampede grounds to city hall, a Calgary EMS ambulance carrying Starker's casket leading the way.

The march will end at city hall, but the funeral procession will continue to 16 Ave. From the Roundup Centre, the procession will head east on 13 Ave. to Olympic Way, north to 11 Ave., west to Macleod Tr., then to city hall.

 

[old medic]

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=3987394b-15e2-4636-8faf-9d358c2d3a97

Police prepare a route of valour for a fallen hero
Sarah McGinnis, Calgary Herald
Published: Thursday, May 15, 2008

CALGARY - Calgary Herald

Calgary Police Services is planning to temporarily close some downtown streets on Friday shortly before a recessional march begins honouring Cpl. Michael Starker.

At around 3:30 p.m., a slow march complete with paramedics, police, firefighters and military members will help escourt Calgary's fallen soldier from his funeral towards his final resting place. The "route of valour" will begin at the northern entrance to the Roundup centre and travel north up 3rd Street SE to 11th Avenue.

The march will continue west on 11th Avenue to Macleod Trail where it turns and heads north to City Hall. While the official military and emergency workers march escourting Starker will conclude at City Hall, a motorcade will continue on as Starker and his close friends and family head to Queen's Park Cemetery for a private internment.

The motorcade will travel north on Macleod Trail from City Hall to 4th Avenue, where it turns west and drives on 4th Avenue to Centre Street. It will then progress north on Center Street to 16th avenue NW where the "route of valour" is set to end.

Calgary EMS is urging people to come out with flags to show their support for Starker, a Calgary reservist and paramedic killed in Afghanistan on May 6. "People should stand as close to the sidewalk as possible," said Staff Sgt. Brett Marklund, of the Calgary Police Service Traffic Unit. Police are also requesting that individuals standing along the march and motorcade route not hover at the corner of Macleod Trail and 7th Avenue SE as they would be standing near the LRT tracks.

Route Diagram located on link.