CFB Petawawa soldiers walk to Ottawa in support of CFB Wainwright victims

CFB Petawawa soldiers Pte. Josh Kane (left), Pte. Dominic Ferguson (second from left), Pte. Nathan Thomas (Centre), Pte. Logan Toupin (second from right) and Pte. Justin Toupin (right) in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa. (Kimberley Johnson/CTV News Ottawa)

Five soldiers completed a long journey on Sunday to raise money for those lost and those still fighting in hospital after the tragic fire at CFB Wainwright in Alberta.

The group walked more than 150 kilometres from CFB Petawawa where they are stationed to the Tomb of the Unknown solider in downtown Ottawa.

Pte. Nathan Thomas says they walked for 35 hours and pushed through pain and cold overnight weather because they knew they had to do something for the victims, despite the distance across the country.

“We really thought about the boys that had to go through this and kept pushing for them,” he said.

“They’ve gone through worse than we’ve gone through on that walk,” agrees fellow Pte. Logan Toupin.

On Oct. 17, four soldiers were killed and dozens were injured at CFB Wainwright when a fire that began during a training exercise quickly spread.

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Among those who died was 23-year-old Pte. Aidan Goulding.

Thomas says some of the group trained with him at Wainwright and two others currently in the ICU. Thomas says they last saw Goulding at graduation at the end of July.

“I honestly never saw him, even through all the hardship we went through. He always kept the guys motivated and kept us pushing forward,” he said.

“It was really devastating.”

Toupin describes Goulding as a “super funny guy.”

“Always a smile on his face whenever we’re in tough time on course,” he said.

“Always brought the moral up.”

Goulding’s motivating spirit was used in every step of the long journey.

Group hoping to raise $10K

Pte. Dominic Ferguson says the group decided to make the trek on Wednesday, and by Saturday at midnight, they had taken their first steps.

The group says there was no extra training or waiting because they wanted to raise $10,000 as soon as they could to help support Goulding’s family and those who are still in hospital.

“We all knew why we wanted to do this,” said Thomas. “You’re hurting bad, but you look to the guys to your left and right and… there’s no thought of giving up. You just know you’re all going to complete it.”

Ferguson, originally from Ottawa, says the site of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier now holds even more significance for him.

“It means a lot more to all of us being in the military and having friends that have been injured or other things,” he said.

“It means a lot to be here.”