KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Anna Miok kissed her right hand, touched the monument that bears her son's name and wept in a gesture that symbolized the pain of a mother who has lost her child to war.
It was one poignant moment of many Sunday as the families of 10 Canadians killed in Afghanistan paid tribute to their loved ones at Kandahar Airfield in what could be the last ceremony of its kind before the military mission ends.
One by one, the parents, spouses and siblings of those killed placed wreaths at the foot of the monument dedicated to Canadians who have died as part of the Afghan mission.
Laszlo Miok said he made the journey to Kandahar for the first time in memory of his younger brother, Sgt. George Miok, a 28-year-old Edmonton school teacher who died on Dec. 30, 2009.
"My brother would've wanted me to come out here to see the lifestyle that he lived, what he did out here, how he enjoyed his job in Afghanistan," said Miok, 32.
"I know at times it's hard to justify whether it's worth it or not when it comes to such a loss. I think something needs to be done and sacrifice is sometimes part of that when it comes to endeavouring in such a great cause."
The roadside bomb that killed Miok also claimed the lives of Pte. Garrett Chidley, Cpl. Zachery McCormack, Sgt. Kirk Taylor and Michelle Lang, a reporter for the Calgary Herald who had been in the country for just two weeks.
They were travelling in a light-armoured vehicle on a muddy road outside Kandahar city when it struck several hundred pounds of homemade explosives. Five others were injured.
The father of Capt. Nichola Goddard, who was the first Canadian woman to be killed in action while serving in a combat role, said the next-of-kin memorial service provided him a measure of comfort.
"It was quite peaceful, more than I anticipated," Tim Goddard said.
"I came with a blank canvas just to see what would happen and to see what I would feel, and so it's been a really eye-opening visit."
Nichola Goddard, a 26-year-old artillery officer from Calgary, died in a Taliban ambush in the Panjwaii district on May 17, 2006.
"It's been a long five years and it was good to be here ... and sort of taste the dust and be in this place where Nichola was," her father said.
For Donna Beek, the visit served as a reminder that her son, Trooper Cory Hayes, sacrificed his life for a just cause.
"People say, 'They died for nothing,"' she said.
"I don't think so. I think we came, we made a little bit of peace for them, we showed them a better way of living. And now as we pull out, as we must ... it's up to them to move on in their own way."
Hayes of Ripples, N.B., was killed exactly two years ago in the Shah Wali Kot district in northern Kandahar from an improvised explosive device. He was 22.
The commander of Task Force Kandahar thanked the relatives who attended and said he hoped they will leave with a better appreciation of the role their loved ones played in the mission.
"Hero is a word not often used in everyday life, but a word entirely appropriate when speaking of those who we remember here today," Brig.-Gen. Dean Milner said.
"A hero is a courageous individual, an individual admired for remarkable qualities such as courage, duty and selfless service. Each of your loved ones possessed and displayed such qualities in spades."
There was some brief doubt whether Sunday's service was going to proceed after the Defence Department discovered nearly two months ago that the publicly funded trips did not clearly fall within spending guidelines.
The costs of this visit were paid for by the military families fund, which is financed by private donations and fundraisers.
Since Canada's mission began in 2002, 154 military personnel, two aid workers, a diplomat and a journalist have died in the country.
