Royal Military College awards posthumous degrees to four cadets killed in Kingston, Ont.
Four Royal Military College cadets who died in a motor vehicle accident in Kingston, Ont. last month were given their degrees posthumously on Thursday and honoured in a memorial put on by friends at the college.
Jack Hogarth, Andrei Honciu, Broden Murphy and Andrès Salek died after their vehicle went into the water off Point Frederick in the early morning hours of April 29.
They were set to graduate from the college in a convocation ceremony along with hundreds of their classmates this spring. RMC awarded the students with their Bachelor of Arts degrees posthumously during the ceremony.
Hogarth was in military and strategic studies and was destined to be an officer in an armoured regiment. Honciu planned to be a logistics officer and studied business administration. Murphy was working to become an aerospace environment controller in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Salek, who was a student of military and strategic studies, also wanted to be an armoured officer.
At a special memorial ceremony on campus Thursday evening, it was an emotional time for the cadets' friends who had studied alongside the students for the past four years.
It was included in the Sunset Ceremony, put on every year by the college. The celebration of life ceremony was organized and added by the students themselves to collectively grieve.
In speeches by friends at the ceremony, the four were remembered as a close-knit group, who were noted for their bravery and dedication.
Jack Hogarth’s was remembered by his friend Adam Beauprè as someone who listened and cared about those around him.
"He just had this anything is possible attitude he used to push through RMC, but he also used to inspire his friends," said Beauprè. "Jack’s love for his friends was only further proven that he was always around for us, and would even seek us out and check in."
Friend Josh Andrews agrees.
"To me and the boys he was a brother and a best friend, to others he was a leader or a peer," says Andrews. "I miss you, man."
Classmate and friend Devin Mainguy said the loss of Honciu was a loss for the whole country.
"He cared for his teammates, subordinates, as well as superiors well-being," he says. "In terms of the Canadian Armed Forces, we not only lost a friend and a member of our family, but a future logistics officer who anyone at this college would have loved to see at any point in their career.
"As future officers we lost a friend and a teammate, but we also see the loss for this entire country, as Canadian Armed Forces lost an incredible and meaningful leader."
Christopher Favrin remembered Murphy as his 'first friend' at the school, and someone whom he bonded with immediately.
"We confided in each other, supported, worked and studied together," he says. "You were a champion in everything you did and always first in line to try something new. You never hesitated to link up and try to get the boys together, and never had a bad time, of this I’m certain."
"Broden was kind, selfless, courageous dedicated and a funny individual," agreed Leon Repin. "Broden left a legacy that will be cherished by all those who’ve ever met him. A legacy that I will remember and embody every day until I join him."
Sharing stories of Andrès Salek, Amy Byun remembered him as a positive and humble individual.
"Losing you was so painful," she says, becoming emotional. "Losing you was so painful because you’re like my breath of fresh air. You took my side no matter if I was right or wrong."
"I’d like to thank God for giving me the opportunity to have such a kind and loving soul like Andrès in my life."
Bagpipes and a parade ceremony were used to honour their friends in a military tradition, what the four would have dedicated their lives to. Four fireworks in white and green were discharged after sundown to mark the loss and celebrate their friends' lives.
Closing his remarks for Murphy, Favrin says he believes the friends are all together.
"Go with the boys as we always did, smile, laugh, eat and drink together," said Favrin. "But save me a spot so that we can, as we always were, all be together again."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.