Strathconas Remember…

By Captain Kayda Wriedt

The sun shining across the cenotaph was a strange contrast to the cold temperature and sombre atmosphere on Remembrance Day this year.  Soldiers from Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) attended Remembrance Day ceremonies across Alberta.  Official Regimental attendance was at Sherwood Park, Mayerthorpe, and several cenotaphs in the Edmonton area. Two particular grave sites also near and dear to the Regiment’s heart were in Nanton, south of Calgary, and in Edmonton – the resting place of two soldiers, Corporal Nathan Hornburg and Trooper Michael Hayakaze, who committed the ultimate sacrifice while serving with the Regiment in operations in Afghanistan.

Corporal Nathan Hornburg was a reservist from the King’s Own Calgary Regiment and deployed with LdSH(RC) to Afghanistan in 2007.  On 24 September 2007, Nathan had been working as an Armoured Recovery Vehicle (ARV) operator when he was tragically killed in the line of duty.  As a tribute to his memory and the work he did as an armoured crewman, the Regiment named one of their ARVs “The Hornburg” (see picture).  This Remembrance Day, a small group of soldiers from the Regiment went to Nanton to pay their respects to Nathan and his family.

The second well respected soldier was Trooper Michael Hayakaze.  Michael was an LdSH (RC) crewman who deployed to Afghanistan as a Leopard 2 tank driver in 2007. On 2 March 2008, Michael was tragically killed in action.  In order to pay their respects to Michael and his family, a group of Strathcona soldiers attended a special ceremony at his gravesite this Remembrance Day.

 

These two brave soldiers, examples to all who serve, further entrench the meaning behind Remembrance Day and are a constant reminder of the tribulations of war.  To all of those who have gone before – you may be gone but not forgotten.