KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Canadian soldiers gathered in the late afternoon sun today to mark the return home of Lt. Justin Boyes.
The 26-year-old Boyes was killed in an IED blast Wednesday morning in Afghanistan's Panjwaii district that also injured two other Canadian soldiers.
More than 2,500 Canadian and international troops lined the tarmac at Kandahar Airfield as Lt. Boyes' flag-draped coffin was carried onto a military transport plane.
Maj. Scott Leblanc, commander of the Police Operational Mentor and Liaison Team based at the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kandahar city, says Boyes was one of his most trusted and professional officers.
Boyes was only 10 days into his second tour in Afghanistan.
He is the 132nd Canadian soldier to die in the Afghan mission since it began in 2002.
