10/02/2026
Today we remember and honour Sergeant Robert Short, and Corporal Robbie Beerenfenger, who were killed in action twenty-three years ago today while proudly serving our country in Afghanistan.
On October 2nd, 2003, Sergeant Robert Alan Short, aged 41, and Corporal Robbie Christopher Beerenfenger, aged 29, members of the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, based at CFB Petawawa, Ontario, were killed when their vehicle hit a roadside-bomb while patrolling the southwestern outskirts of the Afghan capital of Kabul.
The incident occurred at about 1:45 p.m. AFT, when the Iltis jeep they were patrolling in struck a stack of anti-tank mines buried in a dry creek bed in the Jowz Valley, just south of Kabul. Sergeant Short and Corporal Beerenfenger were killed immediately in the blast, and three other soldiers were injured. Corporal Thomas Jared "TJ" Stirling, who was driving Beerenfenger and Short, was severely wounded in the explosion, it was said that it was a miracle TJ had survived the blast. All five soldiers were members of Para Company, 3rd Battalion of The Royal Canadian Regiment.
These tragic deaths would represent the first Canadian soldiers lost to enemy action in Afghanistan, and the first combat casualties in the decades since the Korean War. Short and Beerenfenger would be the first Canadian soldiers to die in an improvised explosive device attack, a tactic that would claim many more Canadian soldiers lives during the war in Afghanistan.
Sergeant Short and Corporal Beerenfenger were both dedicated family and military men, separated only by rank and the 13 years that stood between them. "They're the kind of guys Canada expects their soldiers to be," said Lieutenant-Colonel Acton Kilby, who once commanded both soldiers. "They are good community members, good citizens and good fathers, as well as being extremely professional soldiers."
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien expressed his condolences in this issued statement.
"I was deeply saddened to learn that brave Canadian soldiers had been killed and wounded in the line of duty in Afghanistan," said Chrétien.
"Canada has, resolutely and without hesitation, joined all civilized nations in the international war on terrorism. The news today is a painful reminder that defending our values and doing our duty can come with a very high price."
–Compiled by Mr. Sean Wilson.
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Sergeant Robert Alan Short was born October 15th, 1961 in Fredericton, New Brunswick to proud parents Murray and Annice Short. On February 27th, 1990, Sgt. Short enrolled in the Canadian Forces and began what would turn out to be a very distinguished and honourable career. He completed his recruit training at CF Recruit School in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia in May 1990 and then proceeded to The Royal Canadian Regiment Battle School in Petawawa, Ontario.
After battle school, he was posted to 2nd Battalion The Royal Canadian Regiment. From August 1991 to March 1992 he served with the UN Peacekeeping force in Nicosia, Cyprus. From November, 1992 to May 1993 he was part of the Canadian Infantry Battle Group in Kiseljak, Yugoslavia. During that time, he was promoted to the rank of Corporal, March 10th, 1993.
In January 1996, Sgt. Short was deployed again with the NATO-led Implementation Force (IFOR) to Coralici, Bosnia. Upon his return in July, 1996 he was posted to 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment in Petawawa. While he was in Coralici, he was also promoted to the rank of Master Corporal in April 1996.
The period between 1996 and 2001 gave Sgt. Short time to take numerous courses and receive national qualifications in a variety of areas. He was top candidate for two prestigious courses, the Sniper Detachment Commander Course and Advanced Assault Pioneer Course.
In addition he received qualifications for Small Arms Instruction, Winter Warfare, Reconnaissance Patrolman, Basic Assault Pioneer, Basic Parachuting, Drop Zone Controller, Basic Sniping, Basic Machine Gunner and Eryx Gunner. In December, 2000 he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. That year, Sgt. Short also received recognition as the Top Infantry Master Corporal in the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment.
Sgt. Short returned to Coralici, Bosnia in March, 2001 for another tour of duty with the Infantry Battle Group until he returned in September, 2001. After 9/11 and the ensuing change of priorities, Sgt. Short was deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan in August 2003.
Sgt. Short was incredibly athletic and competed in the Ironman Competitions in 1999 and 2000. He ran the Prague International Marathon in 2001 and The Running Room National Capital Marathons in 1999 and 2000. He was also honoured to do the Nijmegan March in 1998.
An avid Toronto Maple Leafs fan, devoted and unselfish husband and father, genuine friend to all he came in contact with, and Canadian hero, Sgt. Robert Alan Short will truly be missed by all.
Sgt. Short is survived by his sister and brother, Elizabeth and Mitchell Short. He is also survived by his wife, Susan Dawn Fullarton and his three children: sons Jacob Murray Short, Joshua Robert Short and daughter Charissa Dawn Short.
–©The Military Museums of Calgary, Alberta.
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Corporal Robbie Christopher Beerenfenger was born in Ottawa, Ontario, on April 28th, 1974. He was a graduate of North Dundas High School. Beerenfenger, who was given his Dutch-born mother’s maiden name, was an independent child and had a great love of adventure.
After high school, he worked at several jobs before joining the Canadian Forces in March 1997 at the age of 23. Robbie was posted to the 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment on October 26th, 1997 and was employed in Bravo Company as a Rifleman and then in the Battalion’s Mortar Platoon and Reconnaissance Platoon.
The year following, Robbie's life changed still more when he met and fell in love with the woman who would become his wife, Tina, a young mother of two from Hamilton, Ontario. They married in May 2000.
Robbie deployed with the 1st Battalion in 1999-2000 for Operation Kinetic in Kosovo. Robbie was a loving husband and father, as well as a dedicated and professional soldier. He was described as always ready to take charge and give his all in battle by his peers.
Robbie loved being a father to Tina’s two young children, Mathew and Kristopher, and in July 2001 Tina became pregnant with their own child. A daughter, Madison, was born in March 2002 amid rumours that elements of the Royal Canadian Regiment would be sent to Afghanistan, which had become the focus of U.S. military operations in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Trained as a mechanized infantryman, Beerenfenger had worked to develop his light infantry skills so he could be deployed with paratroopers. His fellow soldiers called him “Bear.” Robbie was a man of action. He loved riding mountain bikes with his army buddies on the dirt trails around Petawawa. He would snowboard in winter and wakeboard in summer, riding the rapids in the Ottawa River.
He was equally passionate about being a father, and spent hours alongside his two sons. He was always with his kids after work, biking, rollerskating and playing. "Robbie couldn't sit still for more than a half an hour," said his wife Tina. "He was just that kind of guy, he loved to be active, which attracted me to him, he was such an exciting person."
Cpl. Beerenfenger boarded a transport plane for Afghanistan in August 2003. It was his second overseas deployment. He was serving with the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment as part of Operation Athena, Canada’s military commitment to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission based in Kabul.
Mrs. Wilhelmina Beerenfenger-Koehler was the 2007 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost children in military service.
Robbie Christopher Beerenfenger is survived by his wife Tina Beerenfenger, and their children Matthew, Kristopher and Madison, his mother Wilhelmina Beerenfenger-Koehler, and his father Daniel Roy. He is also dearly missed by his other relatives, friends, and his military family.
–Compiled by Mr. Sean Wilson.
🇨🇦 PRO PATRIA 🇨🇦
"Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities, because it is the quality that guarantees all others." –Winston Churchill
"Greater love hath no man than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." –John 15:13
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