Cpl. Nathan Hornburg Tribute

By Dene Moore, The Canadian Press

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Another Canadian soldier has been killed in fighting with Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.

Cpl. Nathan Hornburg, 24, a mechanic with the King's Own Calgary Regiment, was fixing the track on a Leopard tank when he was killed in a mortar attack around 5 p.m. local time Monday, military officials said.

A second soldier was wounded in the mortar attack.

Three other soldiers were injured by a rocket-propelled grenade in an ensuring firefight with the rebels, officials said.

All four of the injured were evacuated to the hospital at Kandahar Air Field, where a military spokesman described their injuries as "not life threatening."

Details of the firefight during Operation Honest Soldier in the Panjwaii district west of Kandahar city were withheld until Tuesday while Hornburg's family was notified of his death.

"These incidents are extremely difficult and trying times for the families, friends and colleagues of Cpl. Hornburg," Brig-Gen. Guy Laroche, Canada's top military official in Kandahar, told reporters at Kandahar Air Field.

"There is no way to comfort those who are grieving today except to say that Cpl. Hornburg was involved in a mission he believed in."

"Cpl. Hornburg had to dismount in order to put the track back on a Leopard tank and it's at this moment that the mortar shell happened," Laroche said.

Family of Cpl. Nathan Hornburg releases statement UPDATED: 2007-09-26 16:36:50 MST

Our Son and Brother, Nathan Hornburg, represented the best of all of us. He represented what all Canadians should strive to be.

As a boy, he was happy growing up in the neighbourhood of Glamorgan in Calgary, and was greatly influenced by the Calgary Waldorf School philosophy of rhythm, reverence, and ritual. But as much as he loved growing up in Calgary, he also loved the land, and was often found spending time with his extended family in Nanton, Alberta, a place to which he felt deeply connected, and in which he became a son to a second community.

Nathan approached life with enthusiasm. As a young man, he never failed to express a strong sense of fair play, leadership, and curiosity. He was well respected by all who knew him, because he was a true friend, always finding the positive in any situation, always offering his strength when the strength of others was failing. In a way, he was the rock people knew they could depend on, that we knew we could depend on. Nathan was his father's best friend, and the best son and brother a person could be.

Nathan was a leader of men. He never shrunk from responsibility, no matter how difficult the call. In a way, that's why he chose to join the Canadian Forces, to serve with the King's Own Calgary Regiment, and in the end, to go to Afghanistan. He had a warrior's heart, never afraid to lead from the front, and encourage those behind him to be brave in the face of adversity.

The fact that Nathan volunteered to go to Afghanistan, and the way in which he did so, were characteristic of Nathan's approach to life, and any major decision. He evaluated the facts, did extensive research on the subject, looked at the decision from all angles, and then decided using both his heart and mind. Nathan decided to go to that country fully informed and aware of the danger. He went because he felt it was right, and that he could help those in need. He went to support his fellow troops and friends, he went because his country asked him to, and he went because he felt, from the bottom of his heart, that it was the right thing to do.

Before he left, Nathan told his mother that he loved his life, and regardless of outcomes, he would have no regrets. As a family, it would break our hearts to know that the future of the mission in Afghanistan may be determined by un-informed reaction and political opportunism, rather than by the studied measure of logic and wisdom. Nathan's death had purpose. He made a difference. He protected the weak, and stood shoulder to shoulder with warriors to fight tyranny, to help those who needed it, and to defend the values that Canadians hold dear.

Being a soldier was only one aspect of Nathan's life, but bravery and thoughtfulness existed in all aspects of his life. In the end, what Canadians need to know about Nathan is that he was a man of character, a man of purpose, a leader of men, a warrior, a student of the world, and the best of all of us. We remember him, and hope his legacy will encourage us all to be better than we are.

Finally, we would ask that people not try to send flowers, but instead, should they feel it appropriate, charitable donations to the Calgary Waldorf School in Nathan's name would be appreciated. The school can be reached at: Calgary Waldorf School, 515 Cougar Ridge Drive SW, Calgary, AB, T3H 5G9. www.calgarywaldorf.org