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Topic: Private Kevin Vincent Kennedy, 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (Read 612 times)
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Private Kevin Vincent Kennedy, 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, was killed today when an improvised explosive device detonated near their LAV-III armoured vehicle. The incident occurred at approximately 13:30 hrs Kandahar time on April 8, approximately 75 kilometres west of Kandahar City, near the border between Helmand and Kandahar provinces.
Rest in Peace, Kevin.
Pro Patria.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Soldier killed in Afghan blast had talked excitedly about NATO mission at 21:51 on April 8, 2007, EST.
GAGETOWN, N.B. (CP) - Just more than a month before he died in the deadliest day of fighting for Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, Pte. Kevin Kennedy spoke of his excitement in being part of Operation Achilles, a major offensive to drive the Taliban out of Helmand province.
Kennedy, of St. Lawrence, Nfld., could barely contain the rush of adrenaline as he was interviewed by The Canadian Press in early March.
"Everyone is really pumped here this morning," Kennedy said.
"We came here. We've trained for years and we are finally going to go out and do our job and we are ready to do it."
Kennedy was one of four soldiers from the Gagetown, N.B.-based 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, who died in a roadside bomb attack Sunday in southern Afghanistan. The other dead men were identified as Sgt. Donald Lucas, Cpl. Aaron E. Williams, and Pte. David Robert Greenslade.
Also killed was Cpl. Christopher Paul Stannix, a reservist from the Halifax-based Princess Louise Fusiliers, and a sixth soldier who was not identified at the request of his family.
New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham extended his sympathies Sunday to the families of the soldiers, saying it was a sad day for the province and the country.
The military has not released details of exactly where the soldiers were at the time of the attack or what they were doing.
But Operation Achilles was to eventually involve 4,500 NATO and 1,000 Afghan soldiers - one of the largest multinational forces fielded in a single operation in Afghanistan. Canada's Leopard tanks were to have been deployed for action.
At the time, the military said a force of more than 200 soldiers from the Royal Canadian Regiment battle group would be supporting the offensive by setting up a blocking position in the Maywand district just inside the northwestern border of Kandahar province.
Kandahar province, where Canada's 2,500 troops operate, is adjacent to Helmand province in southern Afghanistan.
Brig.-Gen. Tim Grant, a senior Canadian commander, said at the time that the Gagetown-based soldiers were to be tasked with preventing Taliban militants from retreating through the region, said the senior Canadian commander.
They were also to disrupt bands of local insurgents, including drug lords who control the opium trade.
"I don't expect to see and I hope not to see any fighting by Canadians in the Maywand district," said Grant, who noted the battle group includes a force of 46-tonne Leopard 2 tanks.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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Jesse Reed
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My deepest sympathy to the Regiment and their loved ones.
"THEY DIED FOR FREEDOM AND HONOUR"
I’ve just added them to my DVD honoring those who have
given their lives serving Canadiansand helping the people of
Afghanistan.
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Jesse Reed
reedj@rogers.com
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Zinger
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Another sad loss.... My prayers go out to all the families involved.
A real loss to the regiment as well
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Alan Gretsinger
1987-1988 2RCR H Coy
1988-1992 3RCR M Coy and Mortars
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Premier expresses condolences to families of two Newfoundland and Labrador soldiers killed in Afghanistan Breaking News print this article
The Telegram
Premier Danny Williams today expressed his deep sorrow over the loss of the six Canadian Forces soldiers in Afghanistan on the Easter weekend. Two of the soldiers tragically killed Sunday in Afghanistan are from Newfoundland and Labrador — 31-year-old Sgt. Donald Lucas of St. John's and 20-year-old Pte. Kevin Kennedy of St. Lawrence.
“Our hearts are broken for the families of those who have sacrificed their lives so tragically and valiantly. On a day when we are remembering tragic losses in past wars, we are saddened that our sons and daughters continue to pay the ultimate price to secure peace and freedom,” Williams said. “Our deepest sympathies and prayers go out to all the colleagues and loved ones of the brave soldiers who lost their lives or suffered injuries. We will never forget the sacrifice they have made."
Flags at Confederation Building will be flown at half staff to honour Sgt. Lucas and Pte. Kennedy.
The six soldiers killed Sunday make it the deadliest day for Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan.
Kennedy and Lucas were two of five soldiers from the Gagetown, N.B.-based 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment. The other three were Cpl. Aaron E. Williams, 23, of Lincoln, N.B.; Pte. David Robert Greenslade, 20, of Saint John, N.B.; and a soldier who was not identified at the request of his family. Also killed was Cpl. Christopher Paul Stannix, 24, of Dartmouth, N.S., who was a reservist from the Halifax-based Princess Louise Fusiliers.
Ten soldiers were travelling Sunday in a LAV-3 armoured vehicle, accompanying coalition convoys to the Sangin district, the scene of fierce fighting between the coalition and the Taliban, when the bomb exploded.
The explosion injured two other Canadian soldiers, one seriously.
Sunday’s toll brings the total number of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan since 2002 to 51. A Canadian diplomat has also been killed.
Canadians are among 4,500 NATO and 1,000 Afghan soliders involved in Operation Achilles — one of the largest multinational forces fielded in a single operation in Afghanistan.
The military said in March that a force of more than 200 soldiers from the Royal Canadian Regiment battle group would be supporting the offensive by setting up a blocking position in the Maywand district just inside the northwestern border of Kandahar province.
Kandahar province, where Canada’s 2,500 troops operate, is adjacent to Helmand province in southern Afghanistan.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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BJ MacLean
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Mike
As always great job on keeping all informed. I appreciate that this is not the thing you like to talk about. So hats off to you.
I have the upmost respect for the fallen soldiers.
RIP Pro Patria
BJ
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B.J. MacLean
35 Yrs
Always a Proud Royal
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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My prayers and thanks to Kevin and his family for their extreme sacrifice....you have done your duty very well, rest now with God...ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Lucas, Kennedy lauded for leadership
Fallen soldiers well liked by their peers
STEVE BARTLETT THE TELEGRAM
The Telegram
Myles Kennedy says he was more than Kevin’s dad.
He taught the fallen Canadian soldier in high school at St. Lawrence Academy and coached his boy in a variety of sports, especially basketball and soccer.
Besides being a “top athlete,” Myles Kennedy says Kevin was a “person magnet.
“People wanted to be around him. He would walk into a room and just his mere presence and charisma would just lighten up the room. If it was gloomy, all of a sudden everybody was laughing. He had very, very strong leadership skills ... He was always a leader at everything he went at.” Including, he says, the Canadian military.
The 20-year-old Kennedy, who grew up in St. Lawrence, was one of six Canadian soldiers killed in a roadside bomb attack in southern Afghanistan Sunday. Sgt. Donald Lucas of St. John’s also died in the incident. Both Newfoundlanders and two of the other soldiers killed were members of 2nd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, which is based in Gagetown, N.B.
“Kevin was well-liked in the military among his peers,” says his father. “Kevin was the go-to guy. When guys were complaining, he’d turned around and say, ‘Boys, let’s suck it up.’ He was well admired. I can tell you that.”
The 31-year-old Lucas, a father of two young children, was also known for his leadership skills and has been for a long time.
Bernard Davis remembers meeting Lucas in the summer of 1992 through the Church Lads Brigade (CLB).
“He took all the young ones under his wing,” says Davis, a lieutenant at the CLB. “He was sort of like the guru of the CLB. He sort of knew everything there was to know. (He had) a lot of leadership experience.”
Lucas went on to become the brigade’s battalion sergeant major, its highest youth rank. According to Davis — who would later fill the same position — “Don is how a lot of us judged ourselves in my age bracket.”
Kennedy told of fire fights
Myles Kennedy says he spoke with his son eight or nine days ago and he was involved in “fire fights” then.
“Even then, (he was) very, very motivated to get the job done to help the people over there. He was acutely aware of the dangers because they faced it night and day, because they were making tremendous success.”
The grieving, but extremely proud, father says that with his second son’s death — his oldest, Michael, is in the Canadian navy — his life will never be the same.
“Part of me has gone,” he says.
The mood is also quite solemn around the CLB, which Lucas joined as a six-year-old.
“It’s a somber mood. Reflective,” says Davis, noting the CLB Armory’s flags were flying at half-mast in honour of the fallen soldiers. “We’re all upset, disappointed. It’s sad when any soldier falls, but it really hits home when you know someone as well as we knew Don. And he has done much for the CLB.”
Col. Keith Arns, the organization’s governor and commandant, echoed Davis’s sentiment. He described Lucas as an outstanding young man who was a model to his peers.
“I’m sure there are boys who looked up to him at the time as an inspiration. I would assume that that would be his legacy.
“His was a good example. He was involved in all our activities. He obtained the rank of sergeant in the Forces and I’m not surprised by that, because we saw the leadership abilities when he was a young man.”
Other soldiers are also grieving Sunday’s casualties.
Capt. Rick Nolan is stationed in Kandahar City — about 75 kilometres away from where the explosion occurred. The Gander native says the mood is “pretty somber.” He learned of Sunday’s attack and spent a couple of hours that night “running it through in my head.
“I didn’t even know at the time where they were from,” Nolan says. “They could have been six guys from my very own unit, and that weighs with you right there — you don’t know ... The anticipation, the dread, I guess, of wondering if you do know them. And, even then, you put that out of your mind and go through the mourning and suffering for the six people who have lost their life. After that, when you find out they are from Newfoundland, it is really too late for it to have a deeper impact.”
Despite the mood caused by the tragedy, Nolan — who didn’t know Kennedy or Lucas — was impressed by the resiliency of the Canadian troops. He says it was business as usual Monday morning.
‘We’ve all volunteered’
“I think it is important that the readers know we understand that these things happen. It’s not that we accept them ... I don’t know how to word it exactly ... but we’ve all agreed to be in this situation. We’ve all volunteered to be in this situation and nobody is going to turn their back on this situation because these things are happening. Like I said, everybody suited up and everybody who went out this morning, did it without hesitation.
“The guys on the ground, they understand the risks. ... We mourn the loss, but we are resilient. We’re going to stay and we are going to do what we are going to do for as long as it takes and we’re told to stay here, and we’ll do it willingly.
“People need to know we are doing it
willingly.”
According to his dad, Kevin Kennedy held a similar view.
“Kevin would say, ‘If you see evil and you don’t confront it and if you see evil and evil is causing mayhem and you don’t confront it, somewhere down the line you are going to be forced to confront it.’ ”
After the military protocol, Kennedy will be waked for two days in Marystown before being buried in St. Vincent’s, his mother Kay’s home community.
“He wants to be buried next to his grandmother,” his father says.
Details of Lucas’s funeral were unavailable at press time.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Young man 'touched our hearts'
Shannon Proudfoot
The Ottawa Citizen
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
From her house next door in St. Lawrence, N.L., Annette Rennie watched Pte. Kevin Kennedy grow from a smiling little boy chasing a soccer ball into a kind young man who greeted her with the same illuminating grin and a friendly arm thrown around her shoulder.
"He was a great kid, a witty young fellow. Whoever knew him, he touched our hearts," she says of the 20-year-old soldier. "He had a smile for everybody. I'm sure he was the life of his troop."
She describes Pte. Kennedy as a "little jokester" who, along with his older brother, Michael, formed the core of a group of friends while growing up.
The soldier's courage was unwavering, even when he reached Afghanistan and the threat of danger became a reality. At the launch of the Operation Achilles offensive against the Taliban a month ago, Pte Kennedy told The Canadian Press, "everyone is really pumped here this morning. We came here. We've trained for years and we are finally going to go out and do our job and we are ready to do it," he said.
Back in Newfoundland, a town of 1,500 people is now readying itself for a different task. Ms. Rennie says St. Lawrence residents are standing by to offer all the support they can to the Kennedy family, on their way back to his home town for a funeral service. As he wanted, he will be buried next to his grandmother in St. Vincent's, N.L.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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SIX FALLEN SOLDIERS
TheStar.com - News - Ghosts of comrades accompany platoon
Ghosts of comrades accompany platoon
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Troops set aside grief to recall infantrymen slain in Sunday's massive blast
Apr 12, 2007 04:30 AM
rosie dimanno
Columnist
KANDAHAR–Privates Terry Fitzpatrick and Kevin Kennedy had known each other since they were sprouts in Newfoundland, 5-year-old boys playing soldier together.
It's not a game any more.
Tuesday night, Fitzpatrick was a pallbearer for the fallen Kennedy at the ramp ceremony that sent six Canadian soldiers home in caskets draped with the Maple Leaf.
"How many times do you get to say goodbye to your buddy, lose your best friend like that?
"It's hard. But it was really important to me that I got to do that for him.''
Would have flown home with Kennedy too, as a personal escort, had he been given the chance. That's the Canadian tradition – one escort for each dead soldier on the long journey back to CFB Trenton. But Hotel Company, already depleted with 5 Platoon gutted in Sunday's massive roadside bombing, couldn't spare the half-dozen casket chaperones. Only three were designated for the trip.
Fitzpatrick is a 23-year-old rifleman with the Royal Canadian Regiment. Yesterday, he set grief aside in the urge to speak of his mate – most especially, to reach across the vast distance and console Kennedy's family – yet the rawness of this young trooper's hurt was palpable.
Lips trembled and eyes watered as Fitzpatrick plucked at the knees of his desert fatigues. He is so evidently not ready to return to the field, even as he insists this is what he wants, what his pal would want of him.
"I'm actually a new guy in the battalion. Kevin was pretty much a mentor for me. He made sure I had everything I needed. He was a big brother to me, always there. He'd give me the shirt off his back.''
Fitzpatrick is part of 4 Platoon. He heard about the IED (improvised explosive device) attack on the Internet and listened intently to radio chatter, anxious for names of the victims.
"We found out latter than Kevin was one of them. Everyone is grieving but at least I have my memories of Kevin."
But Fitzgerald's heavy heart sinks further as his imagines the mourning back in tiny St. Lawrence, Nfld. "It's going to be tough for a town like St. Lawrence to lose a son and a hero like that.''
Kennedy was among the six mechanized infantrymen who perished in the earth-shaking explosion, all of them riding inside the armoured vehicle. Three walked away physically unscathed. A fourthwas able to direct his own triage despite severe injuries.
Master Cpl. Brian McCallum, the crew commander, was up in the turret. Square-jawed and barrel-chested, the native of Acton, Ont., squints as he tries to recall the exact sequence of events. Much of it is still a blur.
"I remember a sense of floating. When things settled down, I was lying on my chest. I think the ballistic plates in my vest saved me. I remember calling out names and waiting for someone to yell back. At first, there was no response.''
Chillingly, the thought crossed McCallum's mind there was no one else left alive. Then he saw the gunner, Cpl. Greg "Grubby'' Robertson, emerging from the hatch and the driver, Pte. Brennan Leslie, pop out of the mangled vehicle.
"Then we heard (Cpl. Shaun) Fevens moving around in the back of the LAV. He was calling for (the) gunner to help him. I knew that was a good sign.''
The rest of the scene, fatalities strewn about, McCallum declines to describe. That's too painful to revisit. At the time, though, he went into immediate organizational mode, suppressing emotion.
"How do I put this? I wasn't even inside myself. It was like I wasn't even there. Cruise control, I guess.''
But he knew, peripherally, that his close pal, Sgt. Donald Lucas, was dead. They've known each other for eons, served together in Bosnia in 1999. "Every morning, he woke me up, we'd rouse the rest of the guys and he'd have the kettle going.''
Lucas and the others, they're all dead now, dead and gone. McCallum accepts that. Yet they're still with him, at his side.
"I know they're on their way home, back to their families. But, as for them being gone, I don't think so. With everything I do, every day, there's going to be something that reminds me of each and every one of them.''
Some worry that this mass hit of casualties will further unnerve the Canadian public, make Task Force Afghanistan all about the dead and not the day-in, day-out successes of the mission. "The media hasn't really shown the everyday life of the civilians here and how they interact with us, kids giving the thumb's up sign,'' said Pte. Pat Leblanc.
But they are all wracked with emotion, some of it just starting to seep out.
Wherever the remnants of 5 Platoon go, they will be accompanied by the ghosts of their fallen comrades.
Said McCallum: "They'll be riding along with us.''
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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My thoughts and prayers are with all you guys...be as strong as you can for your brothers you have lost ,and for yourselves, and grieve...,you have lost a big part of you all...take heart inthe great work you have done together and you will now carry on doing for your brothers and yourselves...thank you for all you do so selflessly...the world owes you more than can ever be repaid...ranrad
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RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Mike Blais
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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Soldier to be laid to rest Thursday print this article
The Telegram
One of the Newfoundland-born soldiers killed in Afghanistan last week will be remembered by friends and family Thursday at his funeral mass in St. Mary’s.
Private Kevin Vincent Kennedy, 20, died April 8 when a roadside bomb went off, killing six members of the Hotel Company Battle Group of the Royal Canadian Regiment.
Visitation will take place Tuesday and Wednesday at St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Church in St. Lawrence.
The funeral will be held at Our Lady of the Assumption Roman Catholic Church in St. Mary’s at 2 p.m. Thursday.
Kennedy will be laid to rest at the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Cemetery in St. Vincent’s.
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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Mike Blais
SSM (NATO Bar), CPSM, UN-Cyp, CD
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A ROYAL CANADIAN "NEVER PASSES A FAULT"
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http://www.discoverstlawrence.com/kevin_kennedy/
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1RCR 1977-79 Depot (Italy PL), B Coy, Mortars, Pioneers, D Coy (CFB London)
3RCR 1979-82 M Coy, Pipes & Drums, Sigs, Mortars. (CFB Baden-Soellingen)
1RCR 1982-88 Mortars. Dukes, Cyprus-Welfare NCO 84-85, Injured, WO&Sgts Mess, (CFB London)
1988-92 Med-remuster to HELL/ 35 DU, CFB Baden
1992 Medical release. God Bless you all!
Pro Patria
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