We regret to advise of the death of Corporal Étienne Gonthier who was killed in action on 23 January 2008 in southern Afghanistan at the age of 21.
Étienne was a Combat Engineer serving with 5e Regiment du génie de combat in Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Valcartier, QC. He was a native of St-Georges de Beauce, QC. Before joining the Canadian Forces he studied carpentry at the Centre de formation Pozer in St-Georges. Etienne joined the Canadian Forces in 2004 and, after completing his Combat Engineer training at the Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering in CFB Gagetown, NB, he was posted to 5e Regiment du génie de combat. Etienne was on his first operational deployment and was killed when his light armoured vehicle hit an improvised explosive device (IED) during a road clearance operation.
A repatriation ceremony was held on 27 January at the Canadian Forces Base Trenton, ON. A military funeral will be held on 2 February at 11:00 AM at the Saint-Georges Church, 1890, 1st Avenue West, in Saint-Georges. Donations may be made to the Laval University Hospital Neurological Centre, 10 l’Espinay Street, Québec, Québec G1L 3L5. {gd/rtJan2017dc}
