KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Days before a bomb blast killed her husband in southern Afghanistan, Jill Kruse emailed a military padre at Kandahar Airfield asking him to pray for the families of fallen soldiers.
"Christmas has finally come and our soldier isn't home," she wrote.
"And for some families, they won't have their soldiers sit at their table for Christmas dinner again."
An explosion killed her husband, Sgt. Gregory John Kruse, days later.
Warrant Officer Gaetan Roberge, an Afghan police officer and a local interpreter also died when a roadside bomb exploded Saturday in the Panjwaii district, in the western part of Kandahar province.
The padre read Jill Kruse's email to hundreds of soldiers standing row by row at Kandahar Airfield as they bid a final farewell to Roberge and John Kruse.
It was the second time in as many days that troops took to the tarmac for a ramp ceremony.
Pte. Michael Freeman, 28, of Peterborough, Ont., was killed Friday when his armoured vehicle struck an explosive during a security patrol in Zhari district.
The attack that killed Roberge and Kruse happened mere hours before Freeman's flag-covered casket was loaded onto a military aircraft during a ramp ceremony.
Roberge was part of the Canadian team mentoring Afghanistan's fledgling national police force. The military says he was on a foot patrol with Afghan police officers about 25 kilometres west of Kandahar city when they came across a suspected bomb.
Roberge's team called the military's quick reaction force, which Kruse was part of, to deal with the bomb. Military officials say there was a deadly explosion after the team arrived at the scene, at around 12:15 p.m. local time.
The blast wounded four other Canadian soldiers and another Afghan interpreter. All are said to be in good condition.
Roberge was a member of the Royal 22nd Regiment who was serving with the Irish Regiment of Canada in Sudbury, Ont.
In his eulogy, Padre Michel Dion described Roberge as "being kind of like Kentucky Fried Chicken: Crispy on the outside, soft and juicy on the inside."
Roberge was also said to be a deeply religious man who wasn't shy about practising his faith.
His platoon commander, Capt. Shane Gapp, said he was quick to laugh and worked hard at his job.
"His men loved him. He loved his men. You could count on him at any point in time to do anything," Gapp said.
Kruse was from 24 Field Squadron, 2 Combat Engineer Regiment based in Petawawa, Ont. He was serving as a member of 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment battle group.
"Sgt. Kruse was an absolutely first-rate, phenomenal soldier. He cared about his soldiers above just about anything else," said Maj. Matthew Sandy, who served with Kruse.
Sandy remembers meeting Kruse years ago at a school for military engineers, where they both taught. He was stuck by the length of Kruse's arms.
"Sgt. Kruse used to walk around explaining his points to the students that didn't always want to listen as well as they ought to," Sandy said.
"And he used to use these huge arms, waving them up and down as he used to make his point. I used to remember him stomping around like that."
The latest deaths bring to 106 the number of Canadian soldiers killed in the Afghan mission since 2002. One diplomat and two aid workers have also been killed.
Roadside bomb attacks have killed nine Canadian soldiers this month alone. December is now the bloodiest month since April 2007, when nine soldiers were killed.
The blood of many Canadian soldiers stains the dusty terrain of the Panjwaii and Zhari districts.
Since assuming responsibility for Kandahar province in 2006, Canadian forces have staged several major offensives aimed at driving the Taliban from the two districts.
The Canadian commander of coalition forces in Kandahar, Brig.-Gen. Denis Thompson, said bad luck played a role in the latest deaths.
"At the end of the day, it's a game of inches, and it's very much a question of probability sometimes," he said.
"Sometimes you're in the win column and sometimes you're not. And unfortunately ... we're particularly unlucky."
