Funeral for Pte Joel Vincent Wiebe

WIEBE, Pte Joel Vincent On Wednesday, June 20, 2007, Pte. Joel Vincent Wiebe died in the service of his county, in Afghanistan at the age of 22 years. Fondly remembered by his loving spouse and soulmate Anna Marie; father Joe (Nilda) Wiebe and his mother Sherry Clark; sisters:Michelle (Brandon), Marcie, Amanda (Sean); brothers: Ben and Lance as well as nieces: Kali, Sydney, Dalyla and nephew Xander and grandparents. Joel will also be greatly missed by his numerous other relatives, friends and serving members of the Canadian Forces. Joel will be buried with full Military Honours, his Funeral Service on Saturday will be by invitation only. In lieu of other tributes, donations may be made to Edmonton Humane Society, 12251-67 Street, Edmonton, AB T5B 1M8. Serenity Funeral Service, 5311-91 Street, 450-0101. Condolences: www.serenity.ca Your Community Owned Not For Profit Society. ---------------------------------------------------------- June 30th, 2007 Sherry Clark, centre left, mother of Private Joel Wiebe, and Wiebe's finacee Anna Thede, centre right, embrace as pallbearers with 3 PPCLI prepare to drape a Canadian flag over Wiebe's casket following a funeral at Trinity Lutheran Church in Edmonton yesterday. Photo Credit: Tim Smith It was a funeral, not a wedding. Pte. Joel Wiebe and Anna Thede were supposed to get married on Feb. 18 next year at the Trinity Lutheran Church, after the soldier's tour of duty in Afghanistan. Instead, Thede watched the fallen soldier's light oak coffin as it came out of a hearse yesterday morning outside the church on 81 Avenue and 100 Street. Later, Sherry Clark, the soldier's mother, held Thede's hand, as other family members stood beside them outside the church and watched the ceremonial dressing of the casket with a Canadian flag after the funeral. Under the sunny blue sky and with a gentle wind blowing, Wiebe's beret, medals, white dress belt with bayonet and a wreath were ceremoniously placed on top of the coffin before burial. "This is a small step in our grieving process. Family and friends gathered today to remember the wonderful man that Joel was, and the life he had," Wiebe's common-law wife said in a statement released by Edmonton Garrison. "Though we are all very sad, we find strength in being together, and the many fond memories we have of Joel." About 300 people, including 20 honour guards and about 200 regimental comrades from Wiebe's Edmonton 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, family members and friends packed the small church. The funeral service was solemn, Thede's friend Heather Worden told Sun Media. "Anna is doing very well," she added. Some church parishioners wanted to attend the service, but Wiebe's family asked that reporters and the public not attend the funeral and burial ceremonies. Ten-year-old Elexis Ortlieb was at the funeral with her mom Ellen, who is Thede's friend. "It was emotional," said the young girl, describing the service, adding she almost teared up. "I felt a whole range of emotions. I felt sad and mad. But I'm just so happy that he's not suffering anymore. It's so nice to see that everyone has so much strength." Thede sang with her friends a hymn called Blessed Be the Name, Ortlieb told Sun Media. "Her voice resounded strong, she has a beautiful voice." The dead soldier's mom appeared strong and steadfast in her euology, she said. But what moved Ortlieb the most was Wiebe's favourite hymn, the classic Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory. "Throughout you can imagine the attitude of the young men as they went off to do their duties," she said. RAINBOW SONG The funeral service concluded with the Rainbow Song, chosen by Wiebe's sister Amanda, because on the morning the family heard of the soldier's death, "they saw a rainbow on the sky," Ortlieb said. "The song says, everything is going to be OK." Wiebe, who would have turned 23 last week, was buried at the Glenwood Memorial Gardens cemetery in Sherwood Park after a full military honour. Edmonton's 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia will hold a military memorial service for the three dead soldiers at a later date in August.

Soldiers Returned Home

CFB TRENTON, Ont.

June 24-07 1730

A bag piper played three separate tributes to the latest Canadian casualties killed in Afghanistan as the bodies of three Canadian soldiers were returned to Canadian soil Sunday.

A grey military aircraft carrying the bodies of Sgt. Christos Karigiannis, Cpl. Stephen Bouzane and Pte. Joel Wiebe flew into this eastern Ontarion military base to be greeted by grieving family members.

Gov. Gen Michaelle Jean, former governor general Adrienne Clarkson, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor and Gen. Rick Hillier were also present.

As a former governor general, Clarkson attended the ceremony in her military capacity as Colonel-in-Chief of Edmonton's 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, the unit in which all three men served.

Before the plane landed, Hillier addressed a throng of supporters who lined the gates surrounding the tarmac while waving Canadian flags.

Trenton, Ont. resident Brenda Miller said she stands outside the gates of the tarmac during every repatriation ceremony.

"I wish they'd come home better," she said, waving a small flag inscribed with the names of all 60 Canadian soldiers who have died in Afghanistan.

"I'm just so upset I can't even talk tonight."

Once the doors of the military aircraft opened, the soldiers' caskets were carried from the aircraft in descending order of rank.

Visibly-emotional family members of each soldier were physically supported by one another as their loved ones completed their final journey home.

Karigiannis' body was the first to be lifted from the aircraft and returned to his grieving family. One relative wept and held her face in her hands as she welcomed him home.

As Karigiannis' body was loaded into a waiting hearse, Bouzane's family held onto one another as they prepared to receive him.

One family member held out a pink rose and kissed it as soldiers marched across the tarmac bearing Bouzane's casket.

Another clutched a framed photograph of the 26-year-old.

After paying personal tributes to their fallen soldier, Bouzane's family stood aside as the casket containing Wiebe's body was carried from the aircraft.

Speaking last week, Wiebe's fiancee Anna Thede described Wiebe as a committed soldier who was devoted to family, adding that he had life-long aspirations for a military career.

"This job is what Joel chose. This is the job that Joel wanted," she said. "He was very proud to be a part of this."

The three soldiers were killed Wednesday when their unarmoured vehicle, known as a Gator, was struck by a roadside bomb west of Kandahar.

The soldiers' deaths caused the Canadian military to suspend the use of Gators outside secure compounds.

Roadside bombs are responsible for more than one-third of the deaths of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan.

We Shall Remember Them

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Our Angels

A nation mourns Cpl. Stephen Frederick Bouzane, who died serving his country in Afghanistan on Wednesday, June 20, 2007.Bouzane was among three soldiers killed Wednesday when the small, all-terrain vehicle they were riding in hit a roadside bomb. A native of Newfoundland who grew up and continued to reside in Scarborough, Ontario, Bouzane was a member of the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.Remembered by family as a quiet and reserved young man, Bouzane was on his first tour of duty in Afghanistan where he hoped to make a difference.He joined the army in 2003, fulfilling a lifelong dream.

To view or sign the guestbook for Cpl Bouzane

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A nation mourns Pte. Joel Vincent Wiebe, who was killed serving his country in Afghanistan on Wednesday, June 20, 2007 when a vehicle he was riding in struck a roadside bomb.The 22-year-old Edmonton native leaves behind his fiancé, Anna Thede, whom he planned to marry upon returning from his first tour of duty in February 2008.Wiebe, a member of the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, will be remembered by friends and family as a quiet man, who was always eager to help.

To view or sign the guestbook for Private Wiebe

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A nation mourns, Sgt. Christos Karigiannis, who died serving his country in Afghanistan on Wednesday, June 20, 2007.Karigiannis and two other members of the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry were killed when a vehicle they were riding in struck a roadside bomb. An expert skydiver, he was a former member of the Skyhawks, a group of soldiers specializing in complex sky diving formations.

To View or Sign a guestbook for Sgt. Karigiannis