U.S. honours Cdn. friendly fire victims

Bloody decent of them eh

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U.S. honours Cdn. friendly fire victims today
CTV.ca News Staff

Four Canadian soldiers killed by American friendly fire in Afghanistan three years ago are being honoured Monday in the United States.

The soldiers were remembered in a ceremony at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where their names have been added to a wall honouring Americans who died in combat.

"We're going to honour them as we would any Americans," Maj. Tom Bryant, spokesman for the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 187th Infantry Regiment, told The Canadian Press last week.

"They are the first non-U.S. soldiers to be added to our memorial wall."

Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, Sgt. Marc Leger, Pte. Richard Green and Pte. Nathan Smith died after a U.S. fighter pilot, Maj. Harry Schmidt, dropped a 225-kilogram bomb on them April 18, 2002, as they were conducting a nighttime military exercise near Kandahar.

Schmidt, an Illinois National Guard pilot, said he mistook the gunfire for an attack from Taliban fighters and said his superiors never told him they would be conducting exercises that night.

The men were the first Canadian soldiers to die in combat since the Korean War. In addition to the four who died in the blast, eight others were injured. All were members of the Edmonton-based Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

Relatives and fellow soldiers from the infantry will be attending Monday's event.

"I think it's quite an honour for the memory of our son," Nathan Smith's father, Lloyd, told CP from Tatamagouche, N.S.

"We're pleased that they invited us down," Claire Leger, mother of Marc Leger, said.

"When your loved one passes on, the worst fear is they won't be remembered."

Last year, Schmidt was found guilty on four counts of dereliction of duty, for which he was grounded, reprimanded and docked one month's salary.

Charges against the flight leader, Maj. William Umbach, were dropped and he was permitted to retire from the Air National Guard.