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Ex-Winnipegger an Afghanistan hero

His help in saving fellow soldier earns high honour

By: Cameron MacLean

Posted: 01/24/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

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Cpl. Chris Klodt (WAYNE GLOWACKI/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS )

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M/Cpl. Christopher Harding of 2PPCLI will receive the Medal of Military Valour.

When Master Cpl. Chris Harding saw a fellow soldier just a few metres away who had been shot in the neck, he almost couldn't believe it.

"It was kind of, almost, 'What's wrong with him?' " Harding said. "I was hoping that wasn't the case, because I know what that means."

While still under fire, Harding threw his comrade over his shoulder and carried him 150 metres to safety. His actions in Afghanistan would earn the former Winnipegger the Medal of Military Valour, one of Canada's highest military honours, and a chance to meet Canada's Governor General.

But Harding insists that "it really just came down to circumstance."

On July 8, 2006, Harding, now 31, was on patrol in Panjwaii District in southern Kandahar with three other members of 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry based in Canadian Forces Base Shilo. They included Cpl. Chris Klodt, with whom Harding had served in Bosnia.

The Canadians were also mentoring six soldiers from the Afghan National Army.

Their mission was to secure the northern edge of a village that had just been cleared of Taliban.

"We were kind of pushed out a little far," Harding said.

They had been fighting for two days when the group stopped to rest and take some shade behind a mud wall.

They heard a few bullets whiz by, but they took little notice, assuming it was stray fire from a nearby battle.

But the firing grew worse, and soon the group found themselves fighting for their lives against two rocket-propelled grenade teams and a light machine-gun team.

The Afghan soldiers deserted shortly after the fighting started and Harding was left to fight along with Klodt and Pte. Alex Shulaev. Harding thought they were doing well, until he looked over to see Klodt lying on the ground, Shulaev above him trying to administer first aid.

Klodt had been shot in the neck and his body had gone completely limp. Harding remembers thinking his fellow solider had been knocked over by a grenade round, but when Klodt tried to get up, all he could move was his neck.

Almost without thinking, Harding cut off Klodt's gear with his bayonet, threw his comrade over his shoulder, and with Shulaev's help, carried the wounded soldier back to the rest of their company.

The spot where the company stopped was just outside the range of the Taliban fighters, Klodt said. If they had gone 200 metres further, "they would have had us."

Klodt survived the incident with an AK 47 round lodged in his spine that is still there. He still hasn't regained full movement of his body.

Klodt said he isn't surprised by the acts of his comrades. "It's a close-knit family in the military. It's what we're trained to do."

It was Harding's first tour in Afghanistan, but the Pierre Radisson Collegiate graduate is no stranger to foreign conflict zones. Harding had already served three tours in Bosnia.

He was born into a military family in Lahr, Germany, where his father was stationed with the Canadian army.

He moved to Canada in 1980 and settled in Winnipeg in 1989. After graduation, he joined the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders reserves.

Harding said to receive the Medal of Military Valour is "huge."

"In the military, you don't get a lot of credit for anything you do."

Still, he insists his actions in Afghanistan were simply a product of his training. "There was no other option in my mind," he said.

Harding said he and Klodt got together at Christmas 2007, but they didn't talk about the incident. "I don't want to hold it over his head," Harding said.

Governor General Michaëlle Jean will present Harding and several other soldiers with the Medal of Military Valour at a special ceremony in Ottawa on Feb. 13.

Although Harding's wife is due to give birth to their fifth child soon, he is scheduled to return to Afghanistan later this year.

cameron.maclean@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 24, 2009 A5

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