Lori Anna Reid went to Kandahar to sing for the Canadian troops and was almost immediately confronted by death.
The first thing the St. John's native learned after getting off the plane in Afghanistan was that Sgt. Jason Boyes of Napanee, Ont., had just been killed.
He was the 81st Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan.
Reid and other members of her delegation were invited to his repatriation ceremony the next morning.
"It was the first time there was ever any civilians invited to these ceremonies," says Reid.
"I actually sang 'Amazing Grace' a cappella during Sgt. Boyes' repatriation ... and that was the first time they had someone do that, as well, so I felt really, really honoured and touched to be involved at all."
Reid says it was her way of serving.
For her, singing and music has always been about gratitude and praise and she's always felt music serves a higher purpose, as when it's used at weddings and funerals.
Her mind is still brimming with vividly fresh memories days later and you can hear it in her voice during a phone interview from her home in Toronto.
"Every single soldier that I met there knocked me out with his and her integrity and commitment, and gratitude that we were there."
The trip was almost a year in the making. Last April, Reid was invited to perform at the 90th anniversary of Vimy Ridge at the Cabot Club in St. John's.
She had recorded two First World War-era songs a cappella that her dad used to sing to her. The songs were "Valleys of Kilbride," written by a soldier after the war about a fallen comrade, and "Green Fields of France / No Man's Land," about a soldier who gave up his life.
At the time, she wasn't sure if she should sing the latter song because the last verse comments on the futility of war, which she thought was inappropriate and disrespectful because of the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan. She sang the song but left out the last verse.
After her performance she returned to her seat. Shortly after, she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Gen. Rick Hillier, the commanding officer of the Canadian Forces, and a fellow Newfoundlander.
Hillier told her "Willy McBride" is his favourite song and that he only owns four CDs, all of which have a version. Hillier told Reid that hers was his favourite.
From that meeting, Reid was invited to visit the troops in Afghanistan that May, but she had to cancel due to a severe case of bronchitis.
Hillier never forgot her and invited her to accompany him on the morale-boosting mission this year.
The weekend before Easter, Reid and her guitar player and musical collaborator, Gregg Lawless, boarded a plane for Afghanistan along with the band Blue Rodeo, French Canadian rocker Jonas, and a group of former NHL players - not to mention the Stanley Cup.
The repatriation ceremony for Sgt. Jason Boyes wouldn't be the last one Reid would witness during her week in Afghanistan.
But it wasn't all grim.
Reid took in three or four hockey games during Hockey Night in Kandahar. Soldiers and former NHL players, mostly enforcers, played the games on a dusty field, a long way from the frozen rinks that are as common as doughnut shops in Canada.
She also met up with two of her cousins - Cpl. Glen Butt of Port aux Basques, who's a communications technician, and Judy Reid, a civilian originally from Labrador who served with the forces in Bosnia.
Reid and each of the other visitors were paired with soldiers at mealtime.
One soldier asked Reid to tell the soldiers' stories upon her return to Canada. He was 54 and had retired from the Forces in 1994 and settled in Saskatchewan.
About a year ago, he and his wife sold their home and he re-enlisted. Reid says his dedication shows the troops' mettle.
The day before Good Friday, Reid and the other musicians performed for the troops.
She says more than 1,000 NATO soldiers - Americans, Dutch, Australians and Canadians - gathered to hear her, Blue Rodeo and Jonas play. In the back of the dusty field, soldiers pulled up in tanks which they sat on for a better view.
"I've sung all over the world and seen some amazing places, but this was unbelievable," says Reid. "By far the most incredible experience,"
On Easter Sunday, she, Jonas and Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo got decked out in fatigues and safety gear and went outside the wire with some Canadian troops to distribute food, clothes and other supplies to Afghan children.
"The most incredible thing for me was just getting out of the Jeep and standing amongst these children, amongst these girls, 'cause you never see women and girls in Afghanistan," she says. "They're, like, invisible."
Reid made sure she reached out and held the hands of as many girls as she could, not sure if anyone had ever done so before. She tried to shake the hands with the boys, as well, but they knocked her hand away. She says in their culture, it's inappropriate for women to touch males.
On the return to the Canadian base, the Jeep drove through an old hangar. The soldiers told her it was the last stronghold of the Taliban and a place where they would hang educated women.
Later that evening, before they were to board the plane for home, the group received more bad news. Two American soldiers had been killed.
"The moon was shining and there were hundreds and hundreds of soldiers lined up while the coffins were brought down out of the aircraft," Reid says.
"It was incredibly beautiful and incredibly eerie and sad, and it just crystallized why we were there."
She says before the trip she wasn't sure she had much in common with the troops or the hockey players, but looking back, she says they all have one thing in common.
"The team spirit is what keeps the Forces going. It's how everything is gelled together. And that's true in hockey and that's true in music, in a band. That's true in an orchestra. It's not about one person and one person's ego.
"Gen. Hillier told me after the repatriation ceremony that they found out Sgt. Boyes had his limbs blown off and was lying there for a few hours before he died. While he was lying there he was still giving orders to his troops telling them what to do, how to finish."
Reid says that shows unimaginable team spirit. "There's no question that those soldiers need to be there," she says.
dbartlett@thetelegram
Command performance
Singer Lori Anna Reid is surrounded by Afghan children during her recent trip to perform for Canadian troops in Afghanistan. Photo courtesy of Yannick Beauvalet/Department of National Defence
- Published on April 3rd, 2008
- Published on July 1st, 2010
-
Dave Bartlett
The Telegram
Afghan experience a powerful one for Newfoundland singer
Lori Anna Reid went to Kandahar to sing for the Canadian troops and was almost immediately confronted by death.
The first thing the St. John's native learned after getting off the plane in Afghanistan was that Sgt. Jason Boyes of Napanee, Ont., had just been killed.
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Comments
-
- Joe
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:33:32
Mr bartlett's piece I really enjoyed, aswatching Lorianna, grow up from a small girl who eventually babysat my children. Her father Ron and mother Beatrice have been lifelong friends of mine.
Of interest is this young lady's beautiful voice, impresses internationa; artists throughout the world, see her web site, impresses gen Hillier, yet stell Capital here recieved her CD two years ago, I placed it personally in the station managers hand.
Not a single play not one. I guess the many Canadians on the mainland and our troops have a much deeper appreciation.
Kudoos David good article -
- Ryan
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:31:12
This is a response to the people who placed their comments:
To Mike from Mount Pearl and Trudy from Newfoundland,
I knew Jay Boyes, we completed our Sgt's course (DP3A Infantry) together in the same section in feb/march 2007 at CFB Gagetown. We were from different bases and regiments, and had never met before that time.
While knowing Sgt Boyes may present a biased opnion on the article, I would rather call it an informed and perhaps enlightened one, as I do feel that Sgt Boyes presented both traits to all those arround him.
I spent weeks with him in Gagetown, in the room next to his, and we became friends, both at work, and on our off time. He was a great family man, a good friend, a great soldier, a loyal Canadian.
His operational expereince (he had completed two tours of Afghanistan then), and soldier skill impressed me, and we exchanged many stories on previous operational expereince.
While I have more than a few stories in the weeks that Sgt Boyes and I spent together, I remember him most for his extreme fitness. I recall the time he ran himself so hard and fast on the treadmill in Gagetown for a very long period (working out after hours), he threw up in a garbage can after. While I only witnessed the previous act at the gym that caused this, and was thankful I missed the latter, he shrugged it off, with an it happens attitude.
While civilians not used to the camaraderie of our particular DP3A course may consider this unbecoming and perhaps gross in such a public place as a gym, his dedication to remaining fit for the service of his country and his chosen (and naturally fitting trade) as an infantryman was unquestionable. This positive attitude towards physical fitness, and the service to country was contagious, and it set an example to others, by his dedication to his regiment and country, in this act and others.
Lori Anna Reid should be proud to have sang at my friends repatriation. Her act in hounoring him provided fellow colleauges a closing to his passing, and a dedication to his life in service of something positive and greater than himself or anybody else.
To Mike, who feels it best that Lori Anna Ried should not go over to Afghanistan at all: I suggest that you travel outside of Mount Pearl, NL and see Canada, and then perhaps the rest of the world. I think you will find the rest of the world a far more dangerous (and perhaps scary to you) place than Mount Pearl, NL. I would like to ask you do this before you suggest to someone else what their travel arrangements should be.
To Trudy from Newfoundland: I am going to suggest that that you stop suggesting to the media what to report. Good news is just as interesting as bad news, whether it be local or international. Most canadians do want an end to what you refer to as madness . Sgt Boyes played a part in helping to end what you have refered to, in 2002, and 2006 (well over a year of his life is dedicated to just that). Dave Bartlett, reported what he saw and heard, the human side (possibly too human, or perhaps too real for you?), and wether it be postive or negative, he didn't waiver on the real story of Lori Anna Reid and her trip to Afghanistan.
To Dave Barlett, thanks for providing an article on Lori Anna Ried, and her performance for my friend, Jason Boyes. While new of his death saddened me, I appreciate the information on the aspects of his story, and all those that related to his life both before and after his passing. -
- Emmanuelle
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:18:25
Mr. Bartlett. Unfortunately, you facts are not straight. Lori Anna Reid did not attend a ramp ceremony in Afghanistan. She sang at a transition camp somewhere between Canada and Kandahar. The ramp ceremonies that take place in Kandahar are organized based on military traditions and the only music that is played is the lone piper. Many civilians take part in those ceremonies, such as welfare employees, media representatives or political guests. Lori Anna Reid left Kandahar on Saturday 22 April, so she did not distribute candies to Afghan kids on Easter Sunday. She did so the day of her departure, but she was not dressed in fatigue and did not drive through an old hangar. I could go on with your article anomalies, but what is the most disconcerting is your last paragraph. It is highly disrespectful to be describing one man's death circumstances in a public communiqu?. What is discussed on the tarmac of a ramp ceremony should stay there. Soldiers death, like for any other human being, deserved to be honoured. I am hoping that your paper will send an apology to Sgt Boyes' family for having exposed his suffering in the public eyes for what seems to be an artist's self-promotion gesture.
-
- Mike
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:16:56
If you really want to do the soldiers a favour, boycott going over there at all.
-
- Trudy
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:11:32
Why does the media foist these feel good pieces on all of us. Most Canadians want an end to this madness so the media must be cheer leading for Bush and his pet poodle Harper.
-
- Joe
- - July 1st, 2010 at 20:22:12
Mr bartlett's piece I really enjoyed, aswatching Lorianna, grow up from a small girl who eventually babysat my children. Her father Ron and mother Beatrice have been lifelong friends of mine.
Of interest is this young lady's beautiful voice, impresses internationa; artists throughout the world, see her web site, impresses gen Hillier, yet stell Capital here recieved her CD two years ago, I placed it personally in the station managers hand.
Not a single play not one. I guess the many Canadians on the mainland and our troops have a much deeper appreciation.
Kudoos David good article -
- Ryan
- - July 1st, 2010 at 20:19:33
This is a response to the people who placed their comments:
To Mike from Mount Pearl and Trudy from Newfoundland,
I knew Jay Boyes, we completed our Sgt's course (DP3A Infantry) together in the same section in feb/march 2007 at CFB Gagetown. We were from different bases and regiments, and had never met before that time.
While knowing Sgt Boyes may present a biased opnion on the article, I would rather call it an informed and perhaps enlightened one, as I do feel that Sgt Boyes presented both traits to all those arround him.
I spent weeks with him in Gagetown, in the room next to his, and we became friends, both at work, and on our off time. He was a great family man, a good friend, a great soldier, a loyal Canadian.
His operational expereince (he had completed two tours of Afghanistan then), and soldier skill impressed me, and we exchanged many stories on previous operational expereince.
While I have more than a few stories in the weeks that Sgt Boyes and I spent together, I remember him most for his extreme fitness. I recall the time he ran himself so hard and fast on the treadmill in Gagetown for a very long period (working out after hours), he threw up in a garbage can after. While I only witnessed the previous act at the gym that caused this, and was thankful I missed the latter, he shrugged it off, with an it happens attitude.
While civilians not used to the camaraderie of our particular DP3A course may consider this unbecoming and perhaps gross in such a public place as a gym, his dedication to remaining fit for the service of his country and his chosen (and naturally fitting trade) as an infantryman was unquestionable. This positive attitude towards physical fitness, and the service to country was contagious, and it set an example to others, by his dedication to his regiment and country, in this act and others.
Lori Anna Reid should be proud to have sang at my friends repatriation. Her act in hounoring him provided fellow colleauges a closing to his passing, and a dedication to his life in service of something positive and greater than himself or anybody else.
To Mike, who feels it best that Lori Anna Ried should not go over to Afghanistan at all: I suggest that you travel outside of Mount Pearl, NL and see Canada, and then perhaps the rest of the world. I think you will find the rest of the world a far more dangerous (and perhaps scary to you) place than Mount Pearl, NL. I would like to ask you do this before you suggest to someone else what their travel arrangements should be.
To Trudy from Newfoundland: I am going to suggest that that you stop suggesting to the media what to report. Good news is just as interesting as bad news, whether it be local or international. Most canadians do want an end to what you refer to as madness . Sgt Boyes played a part in helping to end what you have refered to, in 2002, and 2006 (well over a year of his life is dedicated to just that). Dave Bartlett, reported what he saw and heard, the human side (possibly too human, or perhaps too real for you?), and wether it be postive or negative, he didn't waiver on the real story of Lori Anna Reid and her trip to Afghanistan.
To Dave Barlett, thanks for providing an article on Lori Anna Ried, and her performance for my friend, Jason Boyes. While new of his death saddened me, I appreciate the information on the aspects of his story, and all those that related to his life both before and after his passing. -
- Emmanuelle
- - July 1st, 2010 at 19:59:45
Mr. Bartlett. Unfortunately, you facts are not straight. Lori Anna Reid did not attend a ramp ceremony in Afghanistan. She sang at a transition camp somewhere between Canada and Kandahar. The ramp ceremonies that take place in Kandahar are organized based on military traditions and the only music that is played is the lone piper. Many civilians take part in those ceremonies, such as welfare employees, media representatives or political guests. Lori Anna Reid left Kandahar on Saturday 22 April, so she did not distribute candies to Afghan kids on Easter Sunday. She did so the day of her departure, but she was not dressed in fatigue and did not drive through an old hangar. I could go on with your article anomalies, but what is the most disconcerting is your last paragraph. It is highly disrespectful to be describing one man's death circumstances in a public communiqu?. What is discussed on the tarmac of a ramp ceremony should stay there. Soldiers death, like for any other human being, deserved to be honoured. I am hoping that your paper will send an apology to Sgt Boyes' family for having exposed his suffering in the public eyes for what seems to be an artist's self-promotion gesture.
-
- Mike
- - July 1st, 2010 at 19:57:12
If you really want to do the soldiers a favour, boycott going over there at all.
-
- Trudy
- - July 1st, 2010 at 19:48:05
Why does the media foist these feel good pieces on all of us. Most Canadians want an end to this madness so the media must be cheer leading for Bush and his pet poodle Harper.
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