Friends, strangers turn out for motorcade carrying fallen sailor

Members of Halifax’s large military community draped flags over a highway overpass and stood at attention for the return of a Shearwater-based sailor killed in Afghanistan.

A motorcade carried the body of Petty Officer Second Class Craig Blake to the chapel at Stadacona Tuesday evening.

Among the friends and strangers who came out to pay their respects was Joanne Delong, who says she comes from a military family.

“I just wanted to be here for support,” she said. “They’re doing something really really dangerous for all of us.”

Tim, another armed forces member, says he didn’t know Blake personally – but couldn’t miss the motorcade.

“That’s the thing with the Canadian Forces, we’re all one large family,” he said. “This is just one of those emotional times.”

Blake, who is survived by a wife and two sons, died when an IED detonated on May 3 near Kandahar.

He’s the first Canadian sailor to die in Afghanistan.

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