About James Hayward Arnal
Repatriated
Body of Cpl. James Arnal back on Canadian soil
Updated Tue. Jul. 22 2008 4:50 PM ET
The Canadian Press
TRENTON, Ont. -- The body of the latest Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan is back on Canadian soil.
Cpl. James Arnal, 25, was killed July 18 by a roadside bomb while he was on foot patrol.
Friends, family, and dignitaries gathered at CFB Trenton to meet the Canadian Forces plane carrying Arnal's body.
Arnal was on his second tour of Afghanistan and had already signed up for a third.
Friends described him as a funny, spontaneous, and adventurous individual who travelled to Africa and Asia before serving in Afghanistan.
Arnal, the 88th Canadian soldier to die on the Afghan mission, told his friends and family that he was born to be a soldier.
A Canadian Hero
A Canadian soldier was killed late Friday by a roadside bomb explosion in southern Afghanistan during a night patrol in Panjwaii district near Kandahar city, military officials say.
Cpl. James Arnal had left a career in information technology to join the military. (DND)
Cpl. James Hayward Arnal was struck while he and other soldiers were on foot patrol in the area.
Canada's top soldier in Afghanistan lauded him as a fearless fighter who had left a lucrative career in information technology to join the army.
"Clearly, he was a dedicated soldier with a very promising career ahead of him," said Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson, Canada's commander in Afghanistan.
Arnal, based out of Canadian Forces Base Shilo in Manitoba, was the 88th Canadian soldier to die in the Afghan mission, and the second killed in combat since the beginning of June.
With files from the Canadian PressAnother Canadian Lost
Canadian soldier killed on patrol in Afghanistan
Canwest News Service
Published: Saturday, July 19, 2008
A Canadian soldier was killed and another injured Friday in Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device detonated near their foot patrol.
Cpl. James Hayward Arnal, an infantryman with the second battalion of Princess Patricia¹s Canadian Light Infantry, was rushed from the patrol in the volatile Panjwaii district to Kandahar Airfield, where he died from his injuries.
The injured soldier is in good condition and is expected to return to duty.
Arnal, who was based out of Shilo, Man., was the 88th Canadian soldier to have died as part of the Afghan mission. He was on his second tour of duty after volunteering for the Canadian Forces four years ago. Previously, he had worked in information technology.
Platoon mates described Arnal as "professional, dependable and utterly fearless under enemy fire," said Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson. "Clearly, he was a dedicated soldier with a very promising career ahead of him." Arnal¹s death comes during a time when casualties among the International Security Assistance Force in the Central Asian country surpassed the monthly toll of coalition troops in Iraq. Recent daring attacks by the Taliban, including a strike on an American outpost that claimed nine ISAF lives and a jailbreak in Kandahar City, have renewed debate about the need for more troops in the war-torn nation.
"Each time we lose a soldier, it causes us to reflect on why we are in Afghanistan, and whether or not our presence here is making a difference," said Thompson. "Of course, soldiers are also not afraid to talk about the challenges faced here in Afghanistan.
Let there be no doubt < we do have our work cut out for us in Kandahar province as we work with our Afghan partners to bring peace and stability to the area." The Canadian Forces have had a rotating contingent of about 2,500 troops n Afghanistan since 2003.
© Canwest News Service 2008
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