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Bodies of Canadian soldiers return home

TRENTON, Ont. (CP) - The gun-metal blue Airbus 310 that arrived from the east this morning carried more than just the remains of two fallen Canadian soldiers.

Fathers, sons, brothers and husbands, Sgt. Robert Alan Short of Fredericton and Cpl. Robbie Christopher Beerenfenger of Ottawa arrived home in caskets that bore the grief of three generations of family, the solidarity of a battalion and the weight of Canada's international commitments.

"The grim reality of today underlines what we mean when we say that our members of the Canadian Armed Forces are prepared to pay the ultimate price in the service of their country," Defence Minister John McCallum said on the windswept tarmac at Canadian Forces Base Trenton following the ceremony.

"We have received their remains with dignity. We mourn their passing with their families and we will say farewell to them with respect."

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