The gunner of a light armoured vehicle patrols the area as a Canadian convoy passes through Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Nov. 14, 2007. [CPLC ROBERT BOTTRILL/COMBAT CAMERA/FLICKR]

Troop 1, B Squadron of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, had just finished a three-day observation patrol and, as the sun set, they were waiting at an observation post for Troop 2 to relieve them.

The replacements did not arrive. Their vehicle had hit an improvised explosive device a couple of kilometres away and a tire was blown off. Troop 1, in three Coyote armoured troop carriers, was dispatched to secure the area until the vehicle could be towed.

But they didn’t arrive at their destination as planned, either. The lead vehicle also hit an IED. The other two vehicles pulled up, one on each side, to provide cover.

“The vehicle was destroyed,” said Corporal Dave Gionet, quoted in In Their Own Words: Canadian Stories of Valour and Bravery from Afghanistan 2001-2007.

Explosion of a car in Afghanisthan[Illustration by Janice Kun/I2ART.COM]

“[Private Jay] Renaud was on the back…he just flew from the vehicle.” The rest of the crew was trapped inside.

Men poured from the other two Coyotes.

Renaud had been thrown about 10 metres and lost consciousness, giving him whiplash and cutting him up.

“I regained consciousness very quickly,” said Renaud. He could hear screaming. “I tore off my helmet and most of my gear to hurry and help out.”

“We were trained…not to go around the vehicle right away, but for us it was just instinct. Our friends were struck down and we just went,” said Gionet. “We never thought about more IEDs around us. We never thought about an ambush. Nothing. We just jumped down and went because those were our best friends.”

A Canadian soldier assigned to the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team on sentry duty at a strongpoint operated jointly by Canadian and Afghan soldiers.[Cpl. Simon Duchesne\AR2008-Z100-2]

“But it was too late. The medics said he was already gone.”

Gionet and Pte. Shane Dolmovic, from the third vehicle, had advanced combat first-aid training.

“We know how to fix wounds fast, address severe bleeding, and…go, go, go, go,” said Dolmovic.

“The Coyote was on its side and the turret was about 10 feet away, upside down”, said Gionet. Master Corporal Allan Stewart had been killed and Cpl. Matthew Dicks had a bad leg wound. The driver, Trooper Patrick Pentland, was pinned in the burning vehicle.

Renaud helped get two people out of the turret, brought fire extinguishers to people fighting the engine fire and went to help Gionet “who was trying to break the driver’s seat” to extract Pentland.

While Dolmovic attended to Dicks’ leg wound in the dark, Gionet climbed inside the vehicle and started to remove the debris trapping Pentland.

“We didn’t know…if the vehicle would blow or if the fire would flare up.

“But I knew one of my best friends, Trooper Scott Waddell, was behind me. In case I caught on fire he could pull me out fast.”

It took about half an hour to get Pentland out, with both Gionet and Dolmovic attempting to resuscitate him.

“I just couldn’t believe it. I kept on thinking he was going to wake up,” said Dolmovic. “But it was too late,” added Gionet. “The medics said he was already gone.” 

That incident drove home just how dangerous their jobs would be.

Gunners inside the intact vehicles were alert for an enemy attack. The rescuers later said that they were not conscious of danger with adrenaline pumping through their systems and their minds in “robot mode,” as they did what they had been trained to do.

That incident drove home just how dangerous their jobs would be. Prior to this event, they had thought the Taliban’s small arms and IEDs wouldn’t penetrate Canadian armoured vehicles. After the incident, they encountered bombs, firefights and other brushes with the Taliban every few days. A month later, Trooper Darryl Caswell was killed by an IED. Two others were wounded in the explosion and had to be evacuated by helicopter.

Dolmovic, Gionet and Renaud all received the Medal of Military Valour for their actions on that fateful April day.

Gionet had mixed feelings about the honour. “I didn’t know if I wanted it or not. We lost people over there. We did something good, but we still couldn’t save everybody. Then I realized I would get it for those that we lost and for my family. One day my little girl will understand why I went there.”

Canadian Forces in Afghanistan. [Adam Day]

His hometown, Cottlesville, N.L., has a population of about 250, and they all came out for a homecoming parade in his honour.

“That makes you feel good. You say to yourself, ‘Hey, I did something.’

Every time I’m out in uniform and people shake my hand and say, ‘thanks for what you’re doing,’ it makes me feel good about it and makes it worth it.”

Whenever he looks at the medal, said Renaud, “I think of Pat, Al and Darryl, that horrible night, all the friends I was with overseas, and everything we did during our time over there. I also think of all the men and women that have lost their lives overseas trying to make other people’s lives better.”