One question: What have you ever done for your country?

National Post ^ | 11/7/2009 | Graeme Hamilton

[Saije]

The bumper sticker on Robin and Paulette Tedford's red Ford pickup truck is as direct as they come. "If you don't stand behind our troops," it reads beneath a Canadian flag, "feel free to stand in front of them." The message might seem jingoistic and surprising in peace-loving Canada, but the sticker is a hot item in this small central Nova Scotia town, and nobody here would think to question the Tedfords' right to display it.

On Oct. 14, 2006, their youngest son, Sergeant Darcy Tedford, 32, was on patrol outside Kandahar when his light-armoured vehicle was ambushed by Taliban insurgents firing rocket-propelled grenades. He and Private Blake Williamson were killed. Born in Calgary but raised near Truro since the age of one, Sgt. Tedford was the third soldier from the area to be killed in Afghanistan. Corporal Christopher Reid, 34, had died in August 2006 when his light-armoured vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb, and a month later, Warrant Officer Frank Mellish, 38, was killed in fierce fighting with the Taliban. Last December saw the combat death of a fourth Truro native, Corporal Thomas Hamilton, 26, who was born in Truro and raised in Upper Musquodoboit, about 45 kilometres away.

For a town of just 12,000 people, the war in Afghanistan has taken an extraordinary toll. It should not, however, come as a surprise. A careful study of the list of the 133 Canadian soldiers who've lost their lives in Afghanistan since 2002 shows they are far more likely to have roots in a town such as Truro than in Toronto or Vancouver...They are for the most part white males under 40 who come from small towns rather than major urban centres. Guys like Darcy Tedford, Chris Reid, Tom Hamilton and Frank Mellish.

[Saije]

Article reads like patriotic, military supporting citizens are some kind of anthropological oddity.

[takbodan]

I believe in Canada they are.

[buccaneer81]

Canada ping.

[Doctor Don]

I voted against OBAMMY!

[fanfan]

Thanks for the ping, buccaneer81.

[fanfan]

Then your belief is wrong.

RED FRIDAYS FOUNDATION OF CANADA

[Former Proud Canadian]

Have you traveled to many parts of the USA? The Bay area in California, along with many college towns, and several other urban areas come to mind. 1600 Pennsylvania Ave in Washington seem not to be a hotbed of support for the military.

Canada is the ONLY western nation that publicly, openly, and spontaneously honors our war dead when they come home from Afghanistan. Google "Highway of Heroes"

In proportion to our population, Canada has suffered more fatalities in Afghanistan than any other allied country, including the US. You should get your facts straight and know who your friends are.

[Don W]

Why should he/she? It's so much easier to slag the one nation that has always stood with America on the side of freedom.

You know, just like liberals find it easier to slag, and find fault with *America* than to appreciate what America represents and has done for the free world...