Recipient of Military Medal of Valour (posthumous)
Corporal, 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment based in Petawawa, Ontario. Aged 23, he was from Peterborough, ON. He was deployed with the Canadian contingent of NATO forces in Afghanistan and served as a member of Task Force Kandahar's Operational Mentor and Liaison Team.
He was killed with WO Robert John Wilson and Pte Demetrios Diplaros, after their armoured vehicle hit a roadside bomb, during a joint patrol in the Arghandab District with Afghan National Army soldiers. The incident occurred approximately 15 kilometres west of Kandahar City.
Cpl McLaren was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. In 2006 he was injured by shrapnel when two U.S. A-10 Thunderbolts mistakenly opened fire on a group of Canadian soldiers. On the current rotation, he risked his life by crawling under fire towards an Afghan soldier, who had been shot, to provide first aid.
His awards and decorations include the General Campaign Star (International Security Assistance Force).
Cpl McLaren is survived by his fiancée Michelle-Anne, his brother Miles, mother Annie McLaren, father Alan, stepmother Jo-Anne McLaren, two stepbrothers and other family.
Funeral held on Saturday, December 13, 2008 at the Peterborough Armoury. Burial at Beechwood National Military Cemetery in Ottawa.
The deaths bring to 100 the number of Canadian troops killed since the country's forces arrived in Afghanistan in 2002. One diplomat and two aid workers have also died.
On May 31, 2010 Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, announced the awarding of Military Valour Decorations to six members of the Canadian Forces who displayed gallantry and devotion to duty in combat.
Citation:
Corporal Mark Robert McLaren, M.M.V. (Deceased)
Omemee, Ontario
Medal of Military Valour
On November 6, 2008, Corporal McLaren's joint Canadian-Afghan patrol was ambushed in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. The attack seriously injured his team's Afghan interpreter, paralyzing him and leaving him exposed to further enemy fire. Heedless to the incoming fire, Corporal McLaren crawled 10 metres to his colleague's position, extracted him to a safe location and administered first aid. Corporal McLaren's courage and selfless devotion to his team prevented the interpreter's immediate loss and allowed for his safe evacuation.
*Thanks to Mike Thompson for the photo.
*Sincere thanks to SusanR for her generous sponsorship of this memorial page.
Corporal, 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment based in Petawawa, Ontario. Aged 23, he was from Peterborough, ON. He was deployed with the Canadian contingent of NATO forces in Afghanistan and served as a member of Task Force Kandahar's Operational Mentor and Liaison Team.
He was killed with WO Robert John Wilson and Pte Demetrios Diplaros, after their armoured vehicle hit a roadside bomb, during a joint patrol in the Arghandab District with Afghan National Army soldiers. The incident occurred approximately 15 kilometres west of Kandahar City.
Cpl McLaren was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. In 2006 he was injured by shrapnel when two U.S. A-10 Thunderbolts mistakenly opened fire on a group of Canadian soldiers. On the current rotation, he risked his life by crawling under fire towards an Afghan soldier, who had been shot, to provide first aid.
His awards and decorations include the General Campaign Star (International Security Assistance Force).
Cpl McLaren is survived by his fiancée Michelle-Anne, his brother Miles, mother Annie McLaren, father Alan, stepmother Jo-Anne McLaren, two stepbrothers and other family.
Funeral held on Saturday, December 13, 2008 at the Peterborough Armoury. Burial at Beechwood National Military Cemetery in Ottawa.
The deaths bring to 100 the number of Canadian troops killed since the country's forces arrived in Afghanistan in 2002. One diplomat and two aid workers have also died.
On May 31, 2010 Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, announced the awarding of Military Valour Decorations to six members of the Canadian Forces who displayed gallantry and devotion to duty in combat.
Citation:
Corporal Mark Robert McLaren, M.M.V. (Deceased)
Omemee, Ontario
Medal of Military Valour
On November 6, 2008, Corporal McLaren's joint Canadian-Afghan patrol was ambushed in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. The attack seriously injured his team's Afghan interpreter, paralyzing him and leaving him exposed to further enemy fire. Heedless to the incoming fire, Corporal McLaren crawled 10 metres to his colleague's position, extracted him to a safe location and administered first aid. Corporal McLaren's courage and selfless devotion to his team prevented the interpreter's immediate loss and allowed for his safe evacuation.
*Thanks to Mike Thompson for the photo.
*Sincere thanks to SusanR for her generous sponsorship of this memorial page.
Recipient of Military Medal of Valour (posthumous)
Corporal, 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment based in Petawawa, Ontario. Aged 23, he was from Peterborough, ON. He was deployed with the Canadian contingent of NATO forces in Afghanistan and served as a member of Task Force Kandahar's Operational Mentor and Liaison Team.
He was killed with WO Robert John Wilson and Pte Demetrios Diplaros, after their armoured vehicle hit a roadside bomb, during a joint patrol in the Arghandab District with Afghan National Army soldiers. The incident occurred approximately 15 kilometres west of Kandahar City.
Cpl McLaren was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. In 2006 he was injured by shrapnel when two U.S. A-10 Thunderbolts mistakenly opened fire on a group of Canadian soldiers. On the current rotation, he risked his life by crawling under fire towards an Afghan soldier, who had been shot, to provide first aid.
His awards and decorations include the General Campaign Star (International Security Assistance Force).
Cpl McLaren is survived by his fiancée Michelle-Anne, his brother Miles, mother Annie McLaren, father Alan, stepmother Jo-Anne McLaren, two stepbrothers and other family.
Funeral held on Saturday, December 13, 2008 at the Peterborough Armoury. Burial at Beechwood National Military Cemetery in Ottawa.
The deaths bring to 100 the number of Canadian troops killed since the country's forces arrived in Afghanistan in 2002. One diplomat and two aid workers have also died.
On May 31, 2010 Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, announced the awarding of Military Valour Decorations to six members of the Canadian Forces who displayed gallantry and devotion to duty in combat.
Citation:
Corporal Mark Robert McLaren, M.M.V. (Deceased)
Omemee, Ontario
Medal of Military Valour
On November 6, 2008, Corporal McLaren's joint Canadian-Afghan patrol was ambushed in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. The attack seriously injured his team's Afghan interpreter, paralyzing him and leaving him exposed to further enemy fire. Heedless to the incoming fire, Corporal McLaren crawled 10 metres to his colleague's position, extracted him to a safe location and administered first aid. Corporal McLaren's courage and selfless devotion to his team prevented the interpreter's immediate loss and allowed for his safe evacuation.
*Thanks to Mike Thompson for the photo.
*Sincere thanks to SusanR for her generous sponsorship of this memorial page.
Corporal, 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment based in Petawawa, Ontario. Aged 23, he was from Peterborough, ON. He was deployed with the Canadian contingent of NATO forces in Afghanistan and served as a member of Task Force Kandahar's Operational Mentor and Liaison Team.
He was killed with WO Robert John Wilson and Pte Demetrios Diplaros, after their armoured vehicle hit a roadside bomb, during a joint patrol in the Arghandab District with Afghan National Army soldiers. The incident occurred approximately 15 kilometres west of Kandahar City.
Cpl McLaren was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. In 2006 he was injured by shrapnel when two U.S. A-10 Thunderbolts mistakenly opened fire on a group of Canadian soldiers. On the current rotation, he risked his life by crawling under fire towards an Afghan soldier, who had been shot, to provide first aid.
His awards and decorations include the General Campaign Star (International Security Assistance Force).
Cpl McLaren is survived by his fiancée Michelle-Anne, his brother Miles, mother Annie McLaren, father Alan, stepmother Jo-Anne McLaren, two stepbrothers and other family.
Funeral held on Saturday, December 13, 2008 at the Peterborough Armoury. Burial at Beechwood National Military Cemetery in Ottawa.
The deaths bring to 100 the number of Canadian troops killed since the country's forces arrived in Afghanistan in 2002. One diplomat and two aid workers have also died.
On May 31, 2010 Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, announced the awarding of Military Valour Decorations to six members of the Canadian Forces who displayed gallantry and devotion to duty in combat.
Citation:
Corporal Mark Robert McLaren, M.M.V. (Deceased)
Omemee, Ontario
Medal of Military Valour
On November 6, 2008, Corporal McLaren's joint Canadian-Afghan patrol was ambushed in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. The attack seriously injured his team's Afghan interpreter, paralyzing him and leaving him exposed to further enemy fire. Heedless to the incoming fire, Corporal McLaren crawled 10 metres to his colleague's position, extracted him to a safe location and administered first aid. Corporal McLaren's courage and selfless devotion to his team prevented the interpreter's immediate loss and allowed for his safe evacuation.
*Thanks to Mike Thompson for the photo.
*Sincere thanks to SusanR for her generous sponsorship of this memorial page.
