CFB TRENTON - The wife of one of three Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan this week who spoke eloquently about her husband following his death burst into tears Friday as she approached his casket during a repatriation ceremony attended by some 300 people.

Warrant Officer Dennis Brown, Cpl. Dany Fortin and Cpl. Kenneth O'Quinn were killed Tuesday when an improvised explosive device detonated near their armoured vehicle during a patrol in Afghanistan's Arghandab district, northwest of Kandahar City. Two other soldiers were injured in the explosion.

The casket carrying Brown was the first to be lowered from the military aircraft as his widow Mishelle -- clutching a small Canadian flag and red rose -- and her daughter and Brown's three sons looked on. Fortin's casket came next, followed by O'Quinn's.

As pallbearers carried Brown's casket to a waiting hearse, his grief-stricken widow swayed back and forth, often looking to the sky. She and the children began weeping as they approached the hearse to pay their respects to Brown, a reservist who served with the Lincoln and Welland Regiment in southern Ontario.

Fortin, a 29-year-old air force member based in Bagotville, Que., had been in Afghanistan since last September and was set to return in April.

O'Quinn, who was born in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, N.L., was based at CFB Petawawa, Ont.

The three deaths brought to 111 the number of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan since the mission began in 2002. Five of those deaths have come this year.

A larger-than-normal crowd of supporters gathered Friday outside the fence surrounding CFB Trenton on a sunny, balmy afternoon, with many clad in red and waving Canadian flags.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay walked along the fence to shake hands with supporters before the repatriation ceremony began.

Carol Honey travelled about three hours from her home in Kitchener, Ont., to attend the ceremony and support Brown's family. Honey said her son, Cpl. Brandon Honey, was a member of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment, which Brown had commanded.

"We're coming to bring home Dennis," she said, fighting back tears. "He touched my son's life a lot."

Honey said she also wanted to lend moral support to Brown's widow, who started a support group for the families of regiment members.

"We're here today for her and Dennis," Honey said. "We're going to be there for years to come, because it's not a one-day thing."

Heather Cockerline, who described herself as a friend of the O'Quinn family, said she felt compelled to attend the ceremony.

"It felt like the right thing to do to come and support them," she said.

"This hits close to home. We really realize the sacrifice the military makes for us."

On Wednesday, Mishelle Brown spoke at length to the media about her husband, saying she supported his decision to deploy to Afghanistan even though she knew he might die in the line of duty.

At the end of Friday's hour-long repatriation ceremony, Brown rolled down the window of her limousine so she could wave the Canadian flag to mourners as she left the base.

As has become customary, the soldiers were saluted from overpasses as the convoy carrying their bodies travelled from CFB Trenton to Toronto along the section of Highway 401 known as the Highway of Heroes. The bodies are to undergo post-mortems in Toronto.