The body of an eastern Ontario soldier who grew up east of Ottawa returned to Canadian soil at a somber repatriation ceremony at CFB Trenton on Wednesday.
Bagpipes delivered a solemn tribute to Pte. Patrick Lormand as comrades carried his flag-draped coffin from a military aircraft to a hearse that transported his body to the coroner's office in Toronto.
Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean, Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Walt Natynczyk were on hand for the ceremony.
Meanwhile, supporters lined overpasses above a stretch of Highway 401, known as the Highway of Heroes, for a less formal tribute to the fallen soldier.
Lormand, 21, grew up in the village of Chute-�-Blondeau, east of Hawkesbury, Ont. He was killed Sunday when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device southwest of Kandahar City.
Flags at Lormand's high school in Hawkesbury flew at half-mast this week, in remembrance of the young soldier who graduated only three years ago. Teachers remembered him as a model student who was well-liked by everyone.
"I'd see him a year after he graduated. He told me he was going to join the Forces. I said, 'Good.' I was shocked when I found out (about his death)," said Martin Bisson, who taught the young soldier.
Lormand was based at CFB Valcartier in Quebec. He is the 130th soldier to die while serving in Afghanistan.
With files from The Canadian Press
