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INUVIK
Randy Payne, who died while serving in Afghanistan, never lived in the North, but his connection to students in Inuvik grows stronger with each passing Remembrance Day.

Edward Cardinal, left, Chelsy Arey, Terence Felix and Trevor Charlie were four of approximately 65 students at Samuel Hearne Secondary School in Inuvik to write letters to the families of soldiers who died in Afghanistan. - Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison/NNSL photo

Since his death on April 22, 2006, Angela Young's students at Samuel Hearne Secondary School have sent letters to his family.

Some express sympathy while others describe their own experiences of loss. In total, more than 60 letters will arrive in Lansdowne, Ont., at the family's home later this month.

"Dear Payne family," one letter began.

"Remembrance Day is a very important tradition at SHSS, especially in Ms. Young's class. I have been waiting to take part in the tradition since grade seven; however, I had no idea it would be so difficult. Your son's life and stories have been so moving. I cannot even imagine what the pain must be like."

Each year, in the days leading up to Remembrance Day, Young tells her class about Payne's service in Afghanistan, about the family he left behind and about what he was like before he died.

Students also watch a video that documents Payne's last 24 hours alive and have a chance to see photos of him and his family, including his two children Tristan and Jasmine.

Since 2007, students have also written letters to the family of Jordan Anderson, who died while serving in Afghanistan on July 4, 2007.

While Young started the project for Randy Payne because he was her brother's best friend, she expanded it to include Jordan Anderson because his father, James, worked in Inuvik as a superintendent of schools and hired many of the teachers who still live in town today.

Terence Felix, a Grade 11 student at Samuel Hearne Secondary School, said writing the letters left him feeling touched, proud and respectful.

"I felt the pain of loss, too," he said.

At the bottom of his letter he included a bible verse, which read, "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our lord."

Grade 12 student Edward Cardinal said it took him two days to draft his letters.

"At first it was hard to think of what to say," he explained. In the end, he decided to write about how sorry he was for their loss and how grateful he was that Payne and Anderson fought to honour and protect Canada.

Chelsy Arey, a Grade 12 student, said she also had a difficult time coming up with the right thing to say.

"You never know what you can say to the family," she said.

Trevor Charlie, a Grade 11 student, wrote letters to the family but also decided to write poems to honour the two soldiers.

"It will not be goodbye/it's rough with tears in your eye," he wrote. "It will be see you later/us we all know he is loved forever."

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