Ramp ceremony honours slain Canadian medics
Last Updated: Sunday, June 27, 2010 | 4:53 PM ET
The Canadian Press
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There was an emotional sendoff at Kandahar Airfield on Sunday night for two Canadian medics killed by an explosive device this weekend.
Operational requirements by the military resulted in a scaled down nighttime ceremony for Master Cpl. Kristal Giesebrecht and Pte. Andrew Miller, with only about 150 people allowed to attend.
Master Cpl. Kristal Giesebrecht and Pte. Andrew Miller were based out of CFB Petawawa. (DND) The two medics were part of a patrol southwest of the city of Kandahar on Saturday when their vehicle detonated an improvised explosive device. Their flag-draped caskets were slowly carried aboard a military aircraft for the journey back to Canada.
Such moments are never easy for soldiers serving in Afghanistan, but losing two individuals who provided medical aid in the field made it more difficult.
Giesebrecht, 34, was born in Wallaceburg, Ont., and was a member of 1 Canadian Field Hospital, based at CFB Petawawa in the Ottawa Valley.Miller, 21, was born in Sudbury, Ont. A member of 2 Field Ambulance, based at CFB Petawawa, he was serving on his first overseas deployment.
Giesebrecht was the third Canadian woman to be killed in combat.
A total of 150 members of the Canadian Forces and four Canadian civilians have been killed in Afghanistan since the military mission began in 2002.
The latest deaths occurred less than a week after Sgt. James MacNeil of Glace Bay, N.S., was killed in the country on June 21.
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