Canadian soldier killed in Lebanon remembered
Prime Minister Stephen Harper released an official statement regarding the death of Maj. Paeta Hess-von Kruedener on Wednesday, while former colleagues paid tribute to the soldier killed in an Israeli air strike.
"I am deeply saddened by reports that Major Hess-von Kruedener serving with the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) mission in south Lebanon is missing and presumed dead as a result of an incident yesterday," said Harper.
"This regrettable event underscores the dangers that our Canadian Forces members face, in all the roles they undertake, to serve our country with distinction and honour and provide assistance to citizens in countries far from our shores," he added.
The Israeli air strike hit a UN observer post in southern Lebanon on Tuesday. The bodies of three other unarmed observers from Austria, China and Finland have been recovered.
Hess-von Kruedener, believed to be in his mid-40s, leaves behind his wife Cynthia and two grown children, a daughter and stepson, said a National Defence spokesman.
His wife held out hope Tuesday despite the first reports of the strike on the UN post.
"I'm sure he's OK," she told the Kingston Whig-Standard. "He knows what he's doing, and what he should be doing in that situation. There's a bunker there that he could have gotten into. We're not giving up hope."
Hess-von Kruedener had been an infantry officer with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry for 20 years and had three months remaining on the one-year mission.
His job, along with other international members of Observer Group Lebanon's Team Sierra, was to report any violations of the now-abandoned ceasefire along the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Regimental Warrant Officer Pete Palmer, based with the Princess Pats in Edmonton, recalled Hess-von Kruedener as "one of the most fit, gung-ho types of soldiers."
"He was demanding of both professionalism and knowing your job, and also being able to lead by example. He was in excellent physical condition."
Palmer and Hess-von Kruedener went on gruelling training exercises together when they were stationed in Winnipeg in 1991, he said.
In Beirut, Lt.-Col. Shane Brennan, the army head of the Canadian evacuation mission, recalled Hess-von Kruedener's airborne exploits.
"He was a jumper. He worked in the parachute training centre for a while. It was the last place he worked before this mission."
"He was always very fit. He had a positive attitude, but he was not afraid to speak his mind. He was a bit of a character who was always pushing the limits of what he was doing."
"Like many soldiers, he was very proud to serve his country and to do a good job."
Hess-von Kruedener also served in Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), and twice in Bosnia.