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Cpl. Anthony Joseph Boneca - LSSR - 09 July 2006

I recieved this e-mail from a member of the Patriot Guard Riders earlier today.

Ma'am,

I spent over an hour this morning talking to some of the officers of the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment and the 38th Canadian Brigade Group. They are forwarding our request to honor this Canadian hero. Hopefully, we will have more information by Wednesday.

While talking to an officer this morning, I found that Cpl Boneca's father served in the Portuguese army. I was brought up in a heavily Portuguese town in Rhode Island and was stationed in the Azores from 1998 to 2000. The military fraternity is a very special feeling and makes for a much smaller world.

 
To give everyone a bit of a break, I've just posted a brief (LT 2 minutes) video, using public domain photos, backed by the "Skye Boat Song" (official slow march of the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPsogi_7jDo

A bit of a chance to pause, reflect and remember....
 
milnewstbay said:
To give everyone a bit of a break, I've just posted a brief (LT 2 minutes) video, using public domain photos, backed by the "Skye Boat Song" (official slow march of the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPsogi_7jDo

A bit of a chance to pause, reflect and remember....

Well done.

RIP Cpl Boneca.
 
Slain soldier was committed to mission

OTTAWA — The father of Cpl. Anthony Boneca, the Canadian soldier killed in a fierce battle near Kandahar Sunday, defended Tuesday his son’s commitment to the mission and his ability to carry it out.

"Recent media reports state that my son may not have been prepared. His conversations with my family and me indicated he was well aware of the dangers around him and was committed to the test he had taken on," said Antonio Boneca, in a statement released through the Department of National Defense. "There is no question about the extent of his military training. I know he was well prepared for what he was sent to do."

Friends of Boneca however, have given a different account of the 21-year-old’s experience in Afghanistan. Dylan Bulloch, a friend from the soldier’s hometown of Thunder Bay, Ont., said Boneca confided to him in a recent telephone conversation that he was dissatisfied with the mission, that he was overworked, his morale was down and that he was not alone among his fellow soldiers in his confusion over Canada’s role in the war-torn country.

"He was saying he was overworked. He’s one of these people that are able to bounce back full of energy. And hearing him saying he was tired and his morale was down was a complete shock," Bulloch said.

In his last e-mails to friends and family, Boneca said he couldn’t wait to come home and likened the conditions in Afghanistan to living in "hell." In the family’s statement, Antonio Boneca acknowledged his son, who joined the reserves after graduating high school and was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan, found the job challenging but that he loved being in the Canadian Forces.

"He said it was difficult to cope with the weather, the sand, and the situation the young children endured. He was proud to make a difference in their lives and said he wished these children could live like we do in Canada," said the statement. "My son volunteered to go to Afghanistan. Anthony knew what he was getting into. He loved being in the army and my wife, Shirley, and I supported our son whole-heartedly. In all my conversations with my son, there was never any mention of him not being well enough or fit enough to carry out his military duties."

The statement also addressed the issue of troop morale by saying, "Anthony knew he was part of a group that stuck together to do what they were sent to do."

Boneca was due to return home in about three weeks and according to his uncle William Babe, the young man had vowed never to return. The soldier’s grieving father said in his statement that his son’s enthusiasm for coming home to his family and girlfriend was only natural.

"Certainly, Anthony wanted to come home, but I ask what soldier wouldn't in that situation?"

Boneca has been described by his friends, family and fellow soldiers as a generous, intelligent, athletic and loyal person who will be missed greatly by the tight-knit neighbourhood where he grew up.

The 17th soldier to die in Afghanistan since 2002, Boneca’s remains will arrive at Canadian Forces Base Trenton Wednesday evening. Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean, Minister of Defence Gordon O’Connor and Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier are expected to attend the repatriation ceremony. The media will be allowed at the ceremony to take photos, but the family will not grant interviews.

© CanWest News Service 2006
 
Should take care of all those media reports if this hasn't been posted yet.
 
God bless em all.
Am satisfied that Mr Boneca has taken the time to issue his commentary.
This media circus is something that always drives me up the wall.........
 
All--

Cpl Tony "T-Bone" Boneca is home.  He arrived today in Thunder Bay on a Westjet flight from Toronto.  He was met at the airport by his CO, RSM, a few other members of the Regimental family, and a large--and I mean large--number of family members...probably 30 or so.  Eight Lake Sups carried his coffin from the plane, across the tarmac and to a waiting hearse, accompanied by the dirge of a single piper.  He now lies in state in a local funeral home, with a vigil of LSSR soldiers standing watch over him, 24/7, until the funeral on Monday.

With him came a PPCLI WO as an escort, from Afghanistan to Thunder Bay.  The WO returns to theatre next week.  I find it comforting that a fallen Canadian soldier is never left alone, even for a moment, until put to his final rest.

Thought you would all like to know.

Dave Laderoute
LCol
CO LSSR 2001-2004
 
:cdn:
Godspeed Cpl. and rest in peace.  :salute:

I hope this disgusting media zoo dies down soon.... thankfully i was in the field all week so i didnt have to listen to all of it....
 
Neil Young, in a concert in Winnipeg this week, dedicated one of the tunes he sang to the memory of Cpl. Boneca.

http://winnipegsun.com/Entertainment/Music/2006/07/15/1686036-sun.html

Young and old friends mastersNot much to protest in solid performances DAVID SCHMEICHEL, Winnipeg Sun (online), 15 Jul 06

(...)

The between-song banter was minimal. Aside from introducing the band, Young waited until just before intermission to address the (sold out) crowd of 13,000 -- expounding on the origin of the song Families, then dedicating it to fallen Canadian Cpl. Anthony Boneca.

"The announcer was talking about how the war had changed medicine," Young said, after noting the song was inspired by a news report on military medical planes. "I couldn't help but think that was a bit off. Anyway, I wanted to do this song tonight for a boy from Thunder Bay."

(...)

Lyrics to "Families"
http://www.lyrics4all.net/n/neil-young/living-with-war/families.php
 
Artist: Neil young
Song: Families
Album: Living With War

when you try to bring our spirit home
won't you celebrate our lives
in a way that's right for our children
and families

when you write your songs about us
won't you try to do us justice
because we want to be just like you
and your families

i see a light ahead
there's a chill wind blowin' in my head
i wish that i was home instead
with my family

there's a universe between us now
but i want to reach our and tell you how
much you mean to me
and my family

i'm goin' back to the usa
i just got my ticket today
i can't wait to see you again
in the usa.

 
FYI, condolences posted here have been printed out and passed along to the Boneca family.  Don't know how they're taking it, but the military staff I provided other copies to ate them up, and seemed to be comforted by them.

 
FYI the funeral is today at 1100 hrs in Thunder Bay.Video of the funeral on the right side of the ctv page.
Packed service,very well attended judging by the video.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060717/boneca_funeral060717/20060717?hub=Canada
 
My sweetie went to the funeral - figures there were about 1,200 in the cathedral, with another 200 or so outside listening.

 
I attended the funeral.  I think your numbers are right, milnewstbay...maybe even a little on the low side.

A few thoughts and observations, in no particular order:

-one of our MCpl's spoke about his buddy, Cpl Boneca, during the funeral Mass, for as long as he could.  When he finally broke down, his "fire team partner", a senior Cpl in the Regiment, immediately stepped into his place and finished reading the MCpl's little speech, before launching into his own.  There was no hesitation, no second thought...the Cpl knew his partner needed to be "covered", and he just did it.  This is what soldiers do.

-we had members of units from across LFWA and a few from elsewhere in the country attend.  I understand a few travelled on their own dime.  Wow.

-our Regiment made some mistakes during the funeral in terms of some of the specialized drill, etc.  Nothing major.  My reaction is, good.  I don't want us ever to have the opportunity to get slick or polished at this sort of thing.

-the reverance shown by the public around the cathedral, during the drive to the internment, at the graveside, all gave me hope that perhaps Canadians can understand what soldiering is really about, what it can cost, and what it's trying to achieve.

-I think everyone held it together more or less reasonably, until Cpl Boneca's father said his final farewell and broke down at his son's graveside.  The grief of a parent for a lost child is a primal thing that resonated through those assembled.  More than a few of us were wiping our eyes after that.

-I have been to military funerals before.  Most have been for those who have reached the natural end of their lives, e.g. as Honourary Cols and LCols.  Those are sad affairs, but they're sad in a retrospective and "fulfilled" way.  Dying at 80 from natural causes is very different than dying at 21.  Even then, I have attended a funeral for a young man killed in a training accident.  Now, I would in no way diminish the loss of a soldier in such circumstances, but Cpl Boneca's death is somehow "different".  Intellectually, I know this is somewhat unfair--dead in a vehicle rollover is just as dead as being killed by enemy action.  And the soldier who dies in the vehicle mishap in Valcartier or the range accident in Wainwright is still dying in the service of his or her country.  Nonetheless, Cpl Boneca's death is still "different" in some visceral, emotional way that I can't yet define.  This is the first funeral I've attended for a soldier killed in battle, so I suppose it's natural to find it a different experience to try and sort out. 

In the end, though, what matters is that Cpl Boneca is finally at rest, the first Lake Sup to die in battle since May of 1945.  I hope that we have no more to lay with him in the coming days, months and years.

Dave Laderoute
LCol
CO LSSR 2001-2004
 
Col Laderoute:

Well said, especially "Nonetheless, Cpl Boneca's death is still "different" in some visceral, emotional way that I can't yet define."


Thank you for your thoughts on the services for Cpl Boneca.




 
One last go, here - new fourish minute video online, using publicly available photos ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RQlaDeTpL4

As per #'s, the good LCOL is right - my sweetie later realized there were LOADS of people in the basement of the church as well.

Public "well done" to the moderators/DS for their wrestling sometimes feisty debate on the boards linked to the death of this young soldier during the past couple of weeks.  Good show, all  :salute:
 
Well done News!! Very meaningful tribute for a fallen Canadian patriot.
 
Well, I wrote CTV about their coverage and they did actually reply. It went into my junk mail filter so I only noticed it today.

Although I don't feel comfortable posting the entire exchange I basically commented that I couldn't believe they dedicated 3/4 of an article to relatives of his girlfriend and only a brief few sentences to the comments of his father.

They commented they try to be as fair as possible, then replied that the reason for this was the fact that one did a full interview while the father only made a statement.

I sent a pretty big reply to the individual that emailed me. If they reply again perhaps I will post the entire exchange.

Although I do wish I had joined this thread earlier I don't have the time to read the entire thing right now. I know from reading peoples ideologies on the board in the past that most of my thoughts and ideas have been coverred by others.
 
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