Calgary unveils plaque honouring 158 Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan

Calgary unveiled a commemorative plaque at the Cenotaph in Central Memorial Park on Sunday, honouring more than 40,000 Canadians who served in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. The plaque names the 158 Canadians who died during the mission.

Mayor Jeromy Farkas spoke at the ceremony. "Every number was a person, every person had a name, and every name belonged to someone who, in turn, was loved," he said. Among those remembered was Cpl. Nathan Hornberg, a Calgary native who attended Bishop Carroll High School. Hornberg enlisted in the King's Own Calgary Regiment at 18, after fighting forest fires in British Columbia. He was killed in action on Sept. 24, 2007, while helping recover a disabled tank in Afghanistan. He was 24.

Farkas said Hornberg "should have had decades ahead of him, a career, a family, a lifetime of possibilities," and that "Nathan gave our country a lifetime that he would never get the opportunity to live." He said returning soldiers "come home with wounds that are visible and invisible," and that the city's duty to honour them extends beyond remembering the fallen.

John Tyrrell, vice-chair of Calgary Salutes, the volunteer committee council set up to recognize the city's military heritage, said the plaque "is more than a piece of metal, it's a promise." Lt.-Col. Andrew Beauchamp, an infantry officer with the Canadian Army, said the day was "an opportunity of remembrance for those that didn't come back" and a chance to acknowledge what those who served gave.

The Cenotaph was first unveiled Nov. 11, 1928, for the First World War dead, and was later rededicated to the Second World War and Korean War. The source does not give the exact date of Sunday's unveiling, and the spelling of Hornberg's name is not confirmed against an official record.