Dozens of police officers, firefighters and first responders gathered Wednesday for salutes as the remains of Pte. Aidan Goulding returned to British Columbia.
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The remains of Pte. Aidan Goulding, a North Vancouver soldier killed in a grass fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta last month, returned to British Columbia on Wednesday and were escorted from the Vancouver airport to a funeral home in New Westminster.
A motorcade carried the hearse beneath a large Canadian flag strung over the route using fire truck ladders, as police and firefighters stood at attention and saluted while the vehicle passed.
Sgt. Maj. Ray Gardner from the Vancouver Police Department was among those lining the route to pay respects to the 23-year-old soldier, sharing condolences with Goulding’s family and saying, “It’s so important that they can at least take that with them, that we all feel deeply, deeply affected,” adding that he believed “all of Canada is feeling heartbroken about what happened.”
Goulding was one of four soldiers killed when a blaze overwhelmed a live-fire training exercise at Wainwright on Oct. 17.
The other soldiers killed were Pte. Hayden Lykkemark, 19, of Langley, B.C.; Sgt. Morgan Wong, 26, of Edmonton; and Pte. Shaun Farrell, 23, from Prince Albert, Sask. Farrell’s funeral was held in his hometown on Wednesday, with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and members of his unit in attendance.
Jim Wishlove, a fire chief with Richmond Fire-Rescue, said first responders came from across Metro Vancouver to honour Goulding and the other soldiers who died, adding, “We’re hurting with them today,” and that the incident “brings it to light for us how incredibly dangerous all of these jobs are.”
Brennan MacLachlan, a reservist with the Canadian Armed Forces and emergency programs manager for the City of Richmond, said he did not believe grief could be eased by words, but noted: “But we stand with them,” adding, “It’s a weight that we all carry.”
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