You know? You're like, "Holy crap." Like, you're, you're breathing.

I took part in at least 70 repatriation parades, and I brought back or started the journey home for 13, uh, of the Canadians who had fallen in Afghanistan.

So how it would work is we would get the message that one or more Canadian troops had been killed in action and that we needed, uh, to get the bodies from Kandahar to the base that we flew out of in the Middle East, uh, before they can be picked up by a Airbus to be then brought back to Trenton.

At least 70.

If you're not working, you're attending the parade as the body's arriving or departing.

Do any of those repatriation flights stand out to you?

One does specifically.

I was at the end of my, one of my tours.

I just kinda decided right then, God, I want to do that.

Both my grandfathers retired from the Canadian Armed Forces in Trenton, Ontario, at CFB Trenton.

And my one grandfather on my father's side, he remained working for the RCAF in the supply division as a civilian after he retired.

And so I spent all my summers in and around Trenton and Belleville watching the aircraft constantly flying, and it always captured, uh, my attention and my interest.

And I remember one time, me and my grandfather, I was about six or seven, we were at our trailer about an hour north of Trenton, and, uh, we were out fishing on our boat.

And I saw this Herc come over the ridge, over the lake, and he dropped down to about 200 feet, and as he approached our boat, he started rocking the wings.

But then I noticed another Herc come in behind him and started doing the same thing.

For most of us, this is where the dream gets tested and where a lot of people realize just how badly they want it.