Canada's Highway of Heroes (CNN, Afghanistan, soldiers, Barack Obama)

[Gary Siete]

Since 2002 Canada has maintained 2,500-2,900 troops in Afghanistan. 127 have died and all received the same welcome on their return to Canada. Impromptu flag waving crowds on the sides of roads and on bridges as the funeral convoy travels 100 miles from Trenton AFB to the Toronto morgue and then back their hometowns. Like Americans, Canadians are split on their presence in Afghanistan but the crowds are non-partisan tributes to fallen soldiers.

YouTube videos:

YouTube - Highway of Heroes Tribute

The Torch: More on the "Highway of Heroes"

The concept of overpass sentinels is starting to spread. Large crowds are taking to Toronto overpasses and hundreds turned up last week on the far side of the metropolis as a soldier was transported home to the Niagara region.

The goose-bumping power of this salute is rooted in the spontaneous simplicity of its creation and growth...

there's nothing comparable to Canada's multi-staged treatment of its fallen anywhere in the world.

The London Evening Standard last year ran contrasting photos [see here] of Canadian versus British treatment of the fallen, heaping shame on how the hearses bearing U. K. soldiers are only escorted by the undertaker's vehicle and usually get stuck in traffic [meanwhile, see how live returning soldiers may be greated--more here].

The Highway of Heroes story has been covered by CNN and Newsweek magazine last month noted that "Canada may have an answer" with its overpass salutes as an option for Americans trying to respect family privacy while allowing the public to observe the human cost of combat.

Under media pressure, President Barack Obama has ordered a review of the country's hidden and heartless U. S. casualty repatriation policy. Dead American soldiers now return home to a camera ban at the air base and are hustled off without ceremony to the mortuary and onward to burial. Photos of U. S. flag-draped coffins are almost always unauthorized.