Lang remembered as 'young, dynamic reporter'

This is a recent photo of Calgary Herald reporter Michelle Lang who was killed in Afghanistan December 30, 2009 while covering the war for the Canwest News Service.Handout
/ Courtesy of Chris Bolin

Calgary-based reporter Michelle Lang, 34, tries on her fragmentation vest and helmet at Kandahar Airfield in this Dec. 13, 2009, photo. Lang was killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan Dec. 30, 2009, while covering the war for the Canwest News Service. Four Canadian soldiers also died in the blast.Colin Perkel
/ The Canadian Press

Calgary Herald reporter Michelle Lang, 34, collects a season's greeting from a Canadian soldier at Kandahar Airfield in this Dec. 12, 2009, photo. Lang was killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan Dec. 30, 2009, while covering the war for the Canwest News Service. Four Canadian soldiers also died in the blast.Colin Perkel
/ The Canadian Press

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — "Michelle . . . was a young, dynamic reporter who strove to excel at her job. (She) was passionate about life and inspired those around her," says Brig.-Gen. Daniel Menard — Commander of Task Force Kandahar.

Lang, 34, a Calgary Herald reporter covering the conflict for Canwest News Service, was killed in Afghanistan during an IED attack Wednesday.

She was just two weeks into her first stint in Afghanistan and was the first Canadian journalist to die there since the Canadian military mission began in 2002.

Though new to Kandahar, Menard also said Lang "touched many of us" through her sensitivity and ability to connect with people.

The Department of National Defence has announced the names of the four soldiers, who also died in the attack. Sgt. George Miok, 28, Sgt. Kirk Taylor, Cpl. Zachery McCormack, 21, and Pte. Garrett William Chidley, 21, all died when their armoured vehicle hit an improvised explosive device four kilometres south of Kandahar City.

Five others were wounded, including four soldiers and a Canadian civilian worker.

The bodies of the deceased are expected to return to Canada on Sunday afternoon.

A military spokesman confirmed that a ramp ceremony will be held at the airfield for Miok, Taylor, McCormack, Chidley and Lang on Friday. Soldiers have begun collecting Lang's personal effects for transport to her family.

Wednesday was an especially bloody day in Afghanistan. In addition to the attack on the Canadians, eight American civilian workers died in a suicide bomb attack on a U.S. military base close to the border with Pakistan, officials said.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for both attacks. "This work is done by us," Yusuf Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Islamist insurgent group, told AFP.

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai issued a statement of condolence Thursday.

"The Afghans will not forget your sacrifice," Karzai said in statement reported by Canadian Press. "Your children sacrificed their lives for the people of Afghanistan and the threat of terrorism."

Defence Minister Peter MacKay said all Canadians share in the loss.

"Today I stand with all Canadians as we mourn the loss of four brave and selfless Canadian soldiers, and one Canadian journalist, who died after the vehicle they were riding struck an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) while on patrol in an area south of Kandahar," MacKay said.

"I extend my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Sgt. George Miok, Sgt. Kirk Taylor, Cpl. Zachery McCormack, and Pte. Garrett William Chidley, who were killed yesterday while working to bring peace and security to the people of Afghanistan. My thoughts are also with the loved ones of Michelle Lang, who was also killed while bravely risking her life to report on the important work Canadians are undertaking."

"Four brave soldiers paid the ultimate price, while courageously serving their country in Kandahar. They perished seeking to help the Afghans build a better future for themselves, while working tirelessly to advance Canadian values. Their sacrifice will not be forgotten," Dimitri Soudas said in a statement Wednesday night.

"Also fallen is a brave reporter, Michelle Lang, who lost her life reporting on the invaluable work being done by Canadian soldiers, aid workers and diplomats in Afghanistan. Her unforeseen and tragic death will be felt in Calgary and in communities across Canada.

"While not regularly the subject of news, those journalists who risk their lives reporting alongside the men and women of the Canadian Forces in one of the most dangerous regions in the world should not be forgotten."

Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean, too, reacted with sadness to the deaths and injuries.

"This new tragedy, like all those before it, is shocking," she said in a statement early Thursday.

"It reminds us of the underhanded, blind, daily violence facing our Canadian soldiers, journalists and humanitarian workers in Afghanistan, who are working alongside the local population already hard hit by decades of terror.

"Our thoughts are with the families, the loved ones and the colleagues of the deceased. We also wish the injured a prompt recovery."

Their deaths bring the toll of Canadian soldiers to 138 since the mission there began in 2002.

At least 17 journalists from around the world have been killed in Afghanistan since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to statistics maintained by the Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent, non-profit organization.

Canadian journalists have had close calls in Afghanistan, but, until Wednesday, none had died.

Two soldiers spent part of Thursday cataloguing and photographing Lang's personal effects for return to her parents in Canada, CP reported.

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