CFB TRENTON, Ont. - Maureen Campeau stood in the afternoon heat on an overpass near Brighton, Ont., with only a camouflage-coloured hat decorated in military pins and other paraphernalia to shelter her from the oppressive sun.
But her mind wasn't on the weather.
She was one of dozens of people waiting for the body of Capt. Richard (Steve) Leary to pass beneath. Leary was killed Tuesday during a firefight with Taliban militants in Afghanistan, and his body had been repatriated to Canadian soil only minutes ago at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, just down the road.
Campeau and the others, many dressed in red and clutching Canadian flags, were there to show support for Leary's family as they accompanied his body down Highway 401 -- dubbed the Highway of Heroes for the 83 soldiers' bodies that made the journey previously -- to Toronto, where it will be examined by a coroner.
Campeau, who is from Brighton, has three brothers-in-law in the Armed Forces, and she said she was "ashamed'' this was only the second time she stood on the overpass to show her support.
"It's the only way you can say thank you,'' she said, her eyes filling with tears.
"When you lose someone close to you, it's nice to know that other people are there to support you. I will be here from now on. Hopefully there won't be another, but if there is, I will be here.''
The hearse's arrival was heralded by a single black police car, its siren wailing. The overpass fell silent as people waved their flags or simply stood and stared, some with hands over their mouths.
Afterwards, Cindy Clitherow picked up her baby and took her four-year-old daughter by the hand. It was the first time she had come out to stand on the overpass.
"It's interesting to explain this to a four-year-old, but she understands what she can, and I think it's important that she's here,'' Clitherow said.
At CFB Trenton, several other supporters lined up outside the air base where the plane delivering Leary's body landed.
Jim Dixon of Belleville, Ont., has only missed four repatriation ceremonies out of the 84 that have been held, and he plans to keep on coming.
He doesn't have any family members in the military, but he believes it's important show support just the same.
"It means a lot to the family to see such a large turnout,'' Dixon said.
Colin Stillwell, a retired serviceman who spent 28 years in the Canadian Forces, said he's missed "less than six'' repatriation ceremonies.
"It's paying respects to a fallen comrade, and it's also to show support to the family that the loss was not in vain and that we do appreciate the sacrifice that the soldier made,'' Stillwell said.
Leary was the 84th Canadian soldier to be killed in Afghanistan since 2002.
The 32-year-old native of Brantford, Ont., was leading a foot patrol of Canadian and Afghan soldiers when they were ambushed.
He was a platoon commander with the 2nd Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry based in Shilo, Man.
