CFB TRENTON, Ont. - The widow of one of four Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan last week almost collapsed from grief Monday as her husband's flag-draped casket was carried from a military aircraft during a repatriation ceremony at this eastern Ontario military base.
As the casket of Master Cpl. Scott Vernelli was brought down the ramp by fellow soldiers, his wife Marcie Lane was so overcome that she had to pass her baby Olivia to a woman beside her.
After the casket was placed inside a hearse, Lane composed herself, walked up to the vehicle and offered a crisp military salute.
The coffin carrying Cpl. Tyler Crooks came down the ramp after Vernelli's, followed by the caskets of Trooper Jack Bouthillier and Trooper Corey Hayes.
The four were killed last Friday in two separate incidents.
Vernelli and Crooks, both members of November Company, 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, died during a foot patrol when a booby trap exploded.
Later that day, Bouthillier and Hayes, who were members of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, died when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb.
All four soldiers were based at CFB Petawawa, Ont. The deaths brought to 116 the number of Canadian soldiers who have died in the Afghan mission since it began in 2002.
Weeping from Crooks's family could be heard across the runway as his casket appeared, and family and friends of the two troopers exchanged tearful hugs when their coffins came down the ramp.
Gov. Gen Michaelle Jean and Defence Minister Peter MacKay were among the dignitaries standing alongside the soldiers' families on the tarmac.
The repatriation ceremony was also attended by about 300 supporters who gathered outside the base on a windy and chilly day.
Supporters who regularly attend repatriation ceremonies say they are saddened by the growing number of Canadian deaths -- eight this month alone.
Many of those supporters were also angered by recent comments on an American news program that mocked Canada's military.
A group of pundits on the Fox News show "Red Eye" took turns ridiculing Canada and its reliability as an ally in fighting terrorism just before the four soldiers were killed.
"It's a personal insult, not just to me, but to every serviceman that goes beyond that fence," said Colin Stillwell of Trenton, Ont., a 28-year veteran of the Canadian Forces.
"When some idiotic Yankee comes out with that stuff it's just so insulting. Am I ticked? Damn right."
Others were less concerned with the talk-show controversy, saying the news of four more Canadian deaths was emotional enough.
"As long as I'm able to come here I'll keep coming, but it would be nice if I didn't have to," said Georgina McQuay of Belleville, Ont.
"When I hear the bagpipes, that does it for me. It causes me to shed a silent tear."
Wade Watts, a former Canadian Forces members who travelled from Hamilton with his wife Deanna to watch the ceremony, said he believes Canada should remain in Afghanistan until the mission is complete.
"If we pull out now, Afghanistan will be our Vietnam and we will have lost all these soldiers for nothing," he said.
Vernelli, 28, of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., is survived by his wife and six-month-old daughter.
Crooks, of Port Colborne, Ont., was killed on his 24th birthday.
Bouthillier's family in Hearst, Ont., said last week they truly believed the 20-year-old would return home safely from his mission.
Hayes, 22, of Ripples, N.B., was remembered by family and friends as a "good kid."
