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WO Richard Nolan RCR, WO Frank Mellish RCR, Sgt Shane Stachnik 2 CER, Pte Jonathan Cushley RCR- 03 Sep 06

Truly a great loss, to the RCR family and the rest of the armed forces. My condolences to their families and friends of all killed ....Let's hope their sacrifice is not in vain..... Go get'em boys.
 
One of the remaining two has been identified http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060813/friendly_fire_060904/20060904?hub=TopStories

The third was identified Monday as Sgt. Shane Stachnik of 2 Combat Engineer Regiment based in Petawawa. The name of the fourth was still being withheld at the request of the family.

RIP Shane. You were a really great friend. :cdn:

Even though the majority of the Engineer world knew yesterday, it still doesn't make it any easier today.
 
Sgt Stachnik...................RIP!!!!!!! Grim reality just set in for me.......I was in denial until I saw it in print even though I had recieved the calls!!!! God Speed. Chimo!!!!!!!!!!
 
Damn, Shane (Slappy)...just...damn... no words.....CHIMO brother  :salute:
 
First day back from Vacation, and a week without news. Not a great thing to come home to.

My heart goes out to the family & friends of the fallen and injured. Another tragic loss for Canada as a whole.  :cdn:

Thank you again to all those who serve our country.
 
To the families, comrades & friends of WOs Mellish & Nolan & Pte Mark Anthony Graham of the RCR and Sgt Stachnik of 2CER, my thoughts are with you at this difficult moment in time.

At the going down of the sun
and in the morn,
We will remember them!

CHIMO!
 
My sinscerest condoleances to the family and the friends these fallen soldiers have left behind.
 
http://www.ccnmatthews.com/news/releases/show.jsp?action=showRelease&actionFor=610506&searchText=false&showText=all

SEPTEMBER 4, 2006 - 18:17 ET 
 
National Defence/Media Advisory: Family of Warrant Officer Mellish Issues Statement
 
CFB GAGETOWN, NEW BRUNSWICK--(CCNMatthews - Sept. 4, 2006) - Warrant Officer Frank Robert Mellish, age 38, an 18-year veteran of the Canadian Forces was killed Sunday while deployed to Afghanistan.

Frank was the son of Barry and Sandra Mellish, loving husband of Kendra Mellish, and devoted father of Matthew and Koven. He is greatly missed and our family will never be the same.

Frank had always dreamed of being a soldier and joined the army right after graduating from high school. Throughout his career, Frank was a driven soldier and never one to pass up a challenge or take the easy way out. Frank set an example for everyone he served with and was highly respected by his leaders and subordinates. He served with distinction and great pride in both the Royal Canadian Regiment and the Canadian Airborne Regiment.

Frank loved NASCAR, working with his hands, and anything else that let him spend time with his boys. He spent much of his leave prior to deploying putting the finishing touches on the new family home and teaching his sons how to ride their new dirt bikes.

This was Frank's seventh deployment overseas, and his second to Afghanistan. He was aware of the risks and accepted them as part of getting the job done. Frank would not have wanted to be anywhere other than in Afghanistan serving beside the friends and fellow soldiers that he trained with. We are proud of Frank's service and accomplishments on this and previous missions.

We will sorely miss Frank and ask that Canadians continue to support the soldiers in Afghanistan and their families.

Please respect the family's request for privacy during their time of grief. 

Note to editors: For all media queries, please contact Lt(N) Brian Owens, CFB Gagetown Public Affairs Officer, at (506) 422-2000 ext 2466 (w), (506) 260-6124 (c) or Owens.BP@forces.gc.ca
 
We know now "Also Tuesday, military officials identified the fourth soldier killed on Sunday as Pte. William Jonathan James Cushley. They didn't provide his hometown or age."

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/09/05/ramp-ceremony.html


Fallen soldiers honoured at emotional ceremony
Last Updated Tue, 05 Sep 2006 08:06:20 EDT
CBC News
Canadian soldiers said goodbye on Tuesday to five comrades killed on Sunday and Monday while taking part in a major offensive in southern Afghanistan.

The remains of the Canadian soldiers were loaded into an airplane Tuesday at the Kandahar airfield. (CBC) Hundreds of soldiers gathered at Kandahar airfield and a piper played as five flag-draped coffins were carried onto a C-130 Hercules airplane. Some of the pallbearers were crying.

Some soldiers were bandaged, a few were in wheelchairs and many wiped away tears.

Also Tuesday, military officials identified the fourth soldier killed on Sunday as Pte. William Jonathan James Cushley. They didn't provide his hometown or age.

Sgt. Shane Stachnik, Warrant Officer Frank Mellish, Warrant Officer Richard Nolan and Cushley were killed on Sunday during fighting with Taliban insurgents in the Panjwaii district of Kandahar province.

Pte. Mark Graham died on Monday when two U.S. aircraft mistakenly fired on a Canadian platoon during the operation.

All of the five dead soldiers were based at CFB Petawawa.

The Canadians are taking part in a major operation aimed at taking control of two dangerous districts west of Kandahar City.

The plane carrying the coffins is expected to arrive at CFB Trenton in eastern Ontario late Wednesday.

Lieut. Grant McDonald, a platoon commander, told the Canadian Press that the deaths of the two warrant officers will affect the troops because warrant officers provide stability, but he said the soldiers are eager to return to the fight against the Taliban.

"The warrant officer is basically like a grandfather to the platoon," he said. "He provides advice and a lot of stability to the platoon and he's someone who the troops look towards as a strong leader."

After the ceremony, Canadian soldiers did return to the fight to clear the Taliban from their strongholds.

"No one wants to sit and wait for anything," McDonald said. "We'd rather get out there and take the fight to the enemy and give them our two cents."

Dedicated family men

Mellish and Nolan, the two warrant officers killed on the weekend, were described on Tuesday as dedicated family men who were proud to serve with the Canadian Forces.

The parents of Mellish, who was raised in Truro, N.S., said in a statement given to the Halifax Chronicle Herald newspaper that he was a loving husband devoted to his two sons.

"We are proud of Frank's service and accomplishments on this and previous missions," Barry and Sandra Mellish said in the release.

In a statement posted on the Department of National Defence website, the Mellish family said he was on his second deployment to Afghanistan. Mellish, 38, was an 18-year veteran of the Canadian Forces.

"He is greatly missed and our family will never be the same," the family said in the statement released by DND. "Frank had always dreamed of being a soldier and joined the army right after graduating from high school. Throughout his career, Frank was a driven soldier and never one to pass up a challenge or take the easy way out. Frank set an example for everyone he served with and was highly respected by his leaders and subordinates."

Combat troops returned to the battle following the ramp ceremony in Kandahar. (CBC) The family said Mellish knew that Afghanistan was a dangerous place but he loved being a soldier.

"He was aware of the risks and accepted them as part of getting the job done. Frank would not have wanted to be anywhere other than in Afghanistan serving beside the friends and fellow soldiers that he trained with."

Nolan, meanwhile, was characterized on Tuesday as a devoted soldier and father, according to Sarah Proulx, his next-door neighbour in Petawawa. Proulx said the community is still in shock. He and his common-law partner, also serving in Afghanistan, were raising four children who were being looked after by Nolan's mother.

"I'm still numb. I can't believe that it happened," Proulx said. "Rick's been only gone a month. We talked many times about them going over, and they said, 'That's our job. We're soldiers.'"

Graham, who grew up in Hamilton, Ont., was described as a gifted athlete who excelled in track and field. His family gathered in a Hamilton bungalow on the weekend to mourn his death.

Fighting the Taliban, rebuilding the country

Thirty-two Canadian soldiers have died since Canada first sent troops to Afghanistan in early 2002. Canada has about 2,200 soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, mainly in Kandahar.

In addition to fighting the Taliban insurgency, Canadians are helping to rebuild the country which was left in ruins after decades of war.

The five deaths during the most recent fighting, known as Operation Medusa, are the most sustained by Canada within 24 hours since early 2002.

With files from the Canadian Press

 
The fourth soldier's name has been released.

Pte. William Jonathan James Cushley
He is with 1 RCR.
 
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2006/09/05/nolan-memory.html

Nolan remembered as dedicated soldier, father
Last Updated: Tuesday, September 5, 2006 | 3:04 PM NT
CBC News
Flags at the Newfoundland and Labrador legislature are flying at half-mast Tuesday, to honour a Newfoundland soldier killed in battle in Afghanistan.

Warrant Officer Richard Nolan, who grew up in Mount Pearl, was one of four Canadians killed in combat on Sunday.



Warrant Officer Richard Francis Nolan was killed in Afghanistan on Sunday.
(Courtesy DND)
He and his common-law partner, who is also serving in Afghanistan, were based at CFB Petawawa in Ontario, where Nolan's mother cared for the couple's four children.

Sarah Proulx, Nolan's next-door neighbour in Petawawa, described him as a dedicated soldier and father, and said the community is in shock.

"I'm still numb. I can't believe that it happened," Proulx told CBC News.

"Rick's been only gone a month. We talked many times about them going over, and they said, 'That's our job. We're soldiers.'"

Nolan was killed while Canadians were battling Taliban fighters during a major offensive aimed at taking control of two dangerous districts in southern Afghanistan. Also killed were Warrant Officer Frank Robert Mellish, Sgt. Shane Stachnik and Pte. William Jonathan James Cushley.

Padre Joseph Johns said the atmosphere at the base has been sombre since residents learned of the deaths.

"When events like this occur, it happens to us as a family and we respond to it as a family," Johns said.

"We mourn, we grieve, but we also carry on with the task at hand of caring for each other."

Johns said the base will prepare Tuesday for the repatriation ceremony for the soldiers' remains.

Premier pays tribute

"He served his country and the people of Afghanistan, as he worked selflessly to bring peace and hope to a country far from home," Premier Danny Williams said in a statement.

"Warrant Officer Nolan paid the ultimate sacrifice in achieving this noble goal, and we will never forget his dedication and commitment to others. He is truly a hero who will never be forgotten."

Meanwhile, the family of a Newfoundland soldier who was wounded in Sunday's battle says Warrant Officer John Barnes will rejoin his group.

His sister, Joanne Dwyer, said Barnes wanted to return to duty as soon as possible.

"They went in to find out if he was well enough to go back into the battling fields, because a lot of people have been injured and hurt," Dwyer told CBC News.

"Because of the dedicated soldier he is, he wanted to go back and help out."
 
RIP Cushley.

My condolences to the friends and family.
 
RIP Warrant Officers Mellish and Nolan, Sergeant Stachnik and Privates Cushley and Graham.

Thank you.

My condolences to the family and friends.
 
RIP fallen comrades :salute:

My favourite quote from WO Mellish "This weekend is nascar, and I love nascar. If I get a call on the weekend from the MPs and I have to come pick you up, I will march you down to mattawa with out water untill all of you turn into a pile of dust!" RIP Warrant

 
http://www.theglobeandmail.com//servlet/story/RTGAM.20060905.wstachnik0905/BNStory/Front

Soldier and fiancée didn't get to set date
Sgt. Shane Stachnik described by friends as a loving partner and proud soldier
ALEX DOBROTA

From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

Sergeant Shane Stachnik proposed to Darcy Mitton five months before boarding a plane to Afghanistan.

She said yes, but they didn't get the chance to set the wedding date.

Sgt. Stachnik died Sunday, one of four Canadian soldiers killed in clashes with Taliban fighters in the district of Panjwai, southwest of Kandahar.

Struggling Monday to come to terms with Sgt. Stachnik's death, Ms. Mitton and the soldier's friends described him as a nice, quiet man, a loving partner and a proud soldier.

Related to this article

Sergeant Shane Stachnik is seen in an undated Department of National Defence photo.

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“He was such a strong and sweet man,” Ms. Mitton wrote in a statement Monday. “He had strong morals, values, ethics and they showed in everything he did.”

The couple had put off discussing a wedding date until February, when Sgt. Stachnik was scheduled to end the six-month tour of duty that he began three weeks ago.

He was planning to return home in October for a short leave to see Ms. Mitton. “We were just looking forward to seeing each other,” she said through sobs in an telephone interview.

Sgt. Stachnik joined the Canadian Forces in the 1990s. In 1997, he helped fight the Winnipeg flood that forced thousands from their homes. “He said it was times like this when it was worth serving your country,” Ms. Mitton wrote.

The sergeant was a member of the 2 Combat Engineer Regiment based in Petawawa, Ont. He was driven by a strong desire to help others, his family and friends said Monday.

Sgt. Stachnik did at least two other tours of duty overseas, including a stint in Sri Lanka, where he brought relief to survivors of the 2004 tsunami as a member of Canada's Disaster Assistance Response Team.

One soldier recalled time spent with the sergeant in Sri Lanka. “He was a very quiet man,” said the soldier, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “He liked to keep to himself.”

But in a tense situation, while they were in territory held by Tamil separatist rebels, and when a little levity was needed to make life more bearable, Sgt. Stachnik was the first to crack a joke, the soldier recalled.

“You're out there, you're unarmed and guys get a little bit worried,” the soldier said. “He would try to lighten the mood.”

On more than one occasion, he also displayed ingenuity and a knack for problem solving, the soldier said. He remembered how Sgt. Stachnik managed to free a truck stuck in mud when time was of the essence for the Canadian convoy trying to reach communities battered by the tsunami.

Sgt. Stachnik used the truck's motorized loading arm to put the vehicle's cargo — a machine used to purify water — onto the muddy road. He then pushed the arm on the load to move the vehicle out of the mud.

“He was definitely a handy man,” the soldier said.

Sgt. Stachnik was based at Petawawa but lived in Chalk River, a town north of the military base. His friend from Sri Lanka said he liked living in the country.

One of his neighbours remembered how Sgt. Stachnik was often milling about his garage, working on a truck, lawn mower or motorcycle, and that he enjoyed riding his Harley-Davidson.

He was “the nicest guy I've ever met,” said Doug Donnelly. “As soon as I would call him here, he would be coming over and having a beer.”

Mr. Donnelly was still in shock Monday about Sgt. Stachnik's death. “I can't believe that.”

 
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