Two Canadians killed

Two Canadian soldiers were killed in Afghanistan on Sunday when a roadside bomb blew up their armoured vehicle. The men were in a convoy in the Dand Dostrict southwest of Kandahar. These are the 128th and 129th soldiers to die on duty in the mission which started seven years ago. They area the first to die in five weeks.

Killed in the noon explosion were 36-year-old Major Yannick Pepin and Corporal Jean-Francois Drouin, aged 21. Both men were members of the 5 Combat Engineer Regiment stationed in Valcartier, Que.

Pepin, is the highest ranking member of the Canadian military to die in combat in Afghanistan. He was the commander of the last two soldiers killed in the mission.

He vowed at the time that, "the work will continue."

Five others were injured in Sunday's attack, but their conditions are not serious.

More than 1,000 Canadian, U.S., Dutch and British soldiers turned out in the bright Afghanistan sunshine for the ramp ceremony Monday at Kandahar Airfield to pay tribute to Pepin and Drouin.

The soldiers stood quietly as the flag-draped coffins carrying the two were loaded aboard a C-130 for the flight home.

"Today the entire task force is mourning our fallen comrades," an emotional Colonel Roch Lacroix, deputy commander for Task Force Kandahar said late Sunday night.

"Saying goodbye to Yannick and Jean-Francois so prematurely is hard for me, it is hard for their friends, and it's hard for their families," Lacroix said, standing in front of a cenotaph marking each of Canada's fallen soldiers.

"Engineers like Yannick and Jean-Francois. . . . put in a great deal of effort in Afghanistan where they're denying the ability of the insurgents to kill innocent victims on a large scale or simply reconstructing a bridge, roads, schools with their Afghan partners."

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs)are the most common cause of Canadian casualties because they are cheap, easy to make and allow the Taliban to exact a high price with little risk.

Battle Group Commander Lieutenant-Colonel Joe Paul told reporters he was proud of both Pepin and Drouin.

He said Pepin was a real 'field officer' and not the kind of man that should have been sitting behind a desk in Ottawa.

Paul apologized for being emotional and said the two men will be missed.

Lacroix spoke fondly of the two fallen warriors.

"Nothing comes easy here and it takes patience and determination - two qualities that both men embodied. Today is the time to grieve but tomorrow we will continue our work to better the lives of Afghans."

Pepin had been in the Canadian Forces for a decade and took great pride in the mission He was devoted to helping and supporting his troops.

Lacroix lauded him for his human values and remarkable compassion.

"Proof of this was when he was on patrol once and stopped his vehicle to take a kite out of the antenna from his vehicle. He handed it to the small Afghan child who thought it had been lost. That day he carried a big grin," remembered Col. Lacroix.

He leaves behind his partner Annie and two children - Alexandra and Charles.

"Yannick was a man of action who was always involved in things and put his personal interests second. We miss him enormously."

Drouin was already showing great promise with his military career. He was known as 'Big Drou' to his friends and remembered as someone who liked to make others laugh.

"Jean-Francois was a very generous man with a big heart," Lacroix said. "As big a heart as the three pieces of steel he liked to lift in the gymnasium."

Drouin was an exemplary soldier who was able to show his capacities as a leader when he had the occasion," said Lacroix.

"He received an accelerated promotion to corporal just before coming out on what was sadly his last mission."

Drouin is survived by his partner Audrey.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered his condolences to Pepin and Drouin's family and friends in a statement released Monday morning.

"Be reassured that an entire country stands behind you at this difficult time," he said in a written statement.

Harper said the sacrifices of the soldiers killed in Afghanistan will not be forgotten and the tragedy of their deaths will not deter Canada from continuing to help Afghans rebuild their country.

"It is only through the hard work, dedication and sacrifice of remarkable Canadians like Corporal Jean-Francois Drouin and Major Yannick Pepin that Afghanistan will once again flourish and stand on its own," Harper said.

"Let us never forget these brave men, whose self-sacrifice served to make life better for others."

Date and time of repatriation is not known at present.