2008, Dec 5, Corporal Mark Robert McLaren, 1RCR, Afghanistan

[Mike Blais]

Corporal Mark Robert McLaren, was killed in an attack by improvised explosive device on his armoured vehicle during a joint patrol with Afghan National Army soldiers in the Arghandab District, west of Kandahar City, in Afghanistan. Mark was on his second tour in Afghanistan and was engaged to be married.

Take time to Remember

[Mike Blais]

Mission worth it, father of slain soldier says

100th Death; Saluted on Highway of Heroes

Megan O'Toole,  National Post

. Andrew Barr, National Post

Almost a year ago, Corporal Mark Robert McLaren's death became a grim milestone: along with two of his slain comrades, he pushed the number of casualties from Canada's Afghan mission to 100.

Cpl. McLaren was on his second tour of Afghanistan in December, when a massive blast from an improvised explosive device ripped through the heavily armoured vehicle he was riding in.

He was killed on a notorious stretch of highway near Kandahar alongside Warrant Officer Robert John Wilson and Private Demetrios Diplaros, all members of the 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment.

The symbolic event sparked an unprecedented outpouring of grief and support from Ontarians, who braved the biting cold to pack the Highway of Heroes as the fallen soldiers made one final journey home.

Alan McLaren remembers that day well. Saying goodbye to his son was among the hardest things he's ever had to do, but as Afghanistan prepares for its second democratic election today, Mr. McLaren is confident his son's death was not in vain.

"Mark's thoughts were that they should have free elections and there should be freedom for men and women and children there; that was his general point of view," Mr. McLaren said this week in an interview from his hometown of Peterborough, Ont.

"He thought he was doing a good job and he needed to be there. I can only ditto his opinion."

Cpl. McLaren was alive to see Afghanistan's first democratic presidential election in October 2004, when Hamid Karzai won a sweeping victory after millions of voters flocked to cast their ballots. It was a landmark moment, one the Afghan people may scarcely have dreamed of just a few years earlier.

The soldier, who died at 23, knew that initial vote was just the beginning of a painstakingly gradual process of transformation in the war-scarred country, his father said, one that will continue today, five years later, as Mr. Karzai runs for re-election.

"[My son] believed it was going to take somewhere between 10 and 20 years to make a fundamental change," Mr. McLaren said.

"Ways of life don't change overnight just because somebody brought in a new idea."

Today's election has already been marred by Taliban threats to chop off the fingers of anyone caught voting, with insurgents saying they would look for the indelible ink used to mark voters' fingers. The Taliban ruling council has called on Afghans to boycott the election and urged fighters to block access to polling stations.

The threats may deter some voters, and polls have suggested Mr. Karzai is unlikely to earn as sweeping a victory as he did in 2004.

Chances are high, Mr. Mc-Laren said, the Taliban will "make examples of some of the people" who choose to participate in the election, noting that was exactly why his son was committed to the mission.

"That's why we're there," he said. "As to us getting up and leaving right away, and allowing that to continue -- we haven't really finished what we went for."

Between the first election in 2004 and today's, dozens of soldiers have perished in roadside bomb attacks, vehicle rollovers, suicide bombings and active combat operations. The toll since the beginning of the mission stands at 127 soldiers and one diplomat. That number may well rise in the coming months as Canadian soldiers, augmented by thousands of American troops, launch more major combat operations in Kandahar.

Asked about the ultimate hopes of soldiers who continue to fight the battle overseas, Mr. McLaren speaks plainly and honestly: "I think any one of them would hope stability came and they could all go home."

motoole@nationalpost.com---------

[ranrad]

I have to agree with this young hero who gave  his all for others.. it will take all of 20 yrs to get real change there.. the seeds are there now, the people are sowing them like crazy, and we, Nato , and the world needs to stay the course, for as long as it takes, lest we lose it all.. all that so many have given their all to build and protect.. i believe we have to do massive recruiting , and stay on our tasks there.. ranrad

[Mike Blais]

Highly emotional trip
Posted By KENNEDY GORDON , EXAMINER STAFF WRITER
Posted 2 days ago
   

When Alan McLaren arrived at the Canadian military base in Kandahar, Afghanistan, his military escort pointed to a weathered Hasty P's sticker affixed to the wall of the base's Tim Hortons outlet.

"Mark put that sticker there on his first tour," McLaren said Thursday. "And it's still there."

Cpl. Mark McLaren, a member of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment (Hasty P's), was killed by a roadside bomb on Dec. 5, 2008 while serving his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. Last week, his father, Alan, joined 16 other friends and family of fallen soldiers in Kandahar.

"We started off as individuals, as strangers, but it didn't take long for us to become one big family," McLaren said. "We weren't happy that we had to part."

McLaren said the visit has helped him as he struggles to deal with the death of his son.

"I feel I can cry more," he said. "It's good to cry, and I cried a lot while I was there. It helps to be with a group like that, the shared experience. I would say it helped me."

Their visit, which also included a two-day tour of Dubai, was paid for by the military, which offers its Next of Kin program to give grieving loved ones the opportunity to see where Canadian soldiers are serving.

"Emotions were high," McLaren said. "There were so many people, so many conversations, everyone so emotional."

A memorial service was held at the base. One by one, fallen soldiers were honoured as their loved ones placed wreaths before a memorial plaque. This part of the visit will always stay with him, McLaren said, adding he was overwhelmed with emotion.

"I almost keeled over twice," McLaren said. "People had to catch me."

After the ceremony, McLaren was given a thank-you plaque signed by B. Gen. Abdul Basir Salabzi, the head of the Afghan army.

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"It really hits home how much the people there respect the Canadians," McLaren said.

"At the ceremony, it was good to hear the Afghan general say how thankful he was that Canadians were there."

While the Canadian visitors weren't able to leave the base, they were given tours and had a chance to meet Canadian soldiers.

One memorable tour took them to the base's video observation centre, a wall of monitors showing what's going on off-base. The military uses camera-equipped drone planes to keep an eye on things.

"While we were there, the camera flew over a roadway and we saw a group of people who were definitely up to something," McLaren said.

"The operators are able to communicate instantly with whoever's closest so someone can go in and check out what's going on."

McLaren had a military escort the whole time and it was someone with a connection; Capt. John McNeil had known Cpl. McLaren during his initial military training.

McLaren was also able to meet Mike Legere, a Canadian soldier whose wife befriended McLaren's wife Jo-Anne over the Internet.

Legere sent the McLarens several mementos

from Afghanistan, including a camouflage hat.

"I was wearing it when I met him," McLaren said. "He sent it all the way here, and I wore it all the way back."

On Thursday, McLaren was wearing a newer hat. This one, a camouflage baseball cap with a Tim Hortons logo, is an Afghanexclusive prize from the base's Tim Hortons Roll Up The Rim To Win contest.

"Tim Hortons in Afghanistan tastes just like Tim Hortons in Canada," McLaren said.

kgordon@peterboroughexaminer.com

[ranrad]

This pretty much says all one can say..i hope it is repeated for a long time..ranrad

[Mike Blais]

National Post · Monday, May 31, 2010

Valour award. Lest we forget the courage of our fallen comrades. 


CORPORAL MARK ROBERT MCLAREN, M.M.V. (DECEASED)

Omemee Medal of Military Valour

On Nov. 6, 2008, Corporal McLaren's joint Canadian-Afghan patrol was ambushed in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. The attack seriously injured his team's Afghan interpreter, paralyzing him and leaving him exposed to further enemy fire. Heedless to the incoming fire, Corporal McLaren crawled 10 metres to his colleague's position, extracted him to a safe location and administered first aid. Corporal McLaren's courage and selfless devotion to his team prevented the interpreter's immediate loss and allowed for his safe evacuation.