Spring day masks families' sorrow at soldiers' homecoming

THE engines of the mighty C-17 Globemaster clicked off and silence engulfed the Amberley Air Base. 

THE engines of the mighty C-17 Globemaster clicked off and suddenly silence engulfed the Amberley Air Base as the ramp of the giant RAAF aircraft came down. Three flag-draped caskets emerged.

On such a beautiful spring day, with the sun bright in the Queensland sky, it was the sorriest homecoming imaginable for Sapper James Martin, Lance Corporal Stjepan "Rick" Milosevic and Private Robbie Poate.

As their stricken families looked on, military rank was set aside. The fallen Diggers were carried into the sunshine, on the shoulders of their brothers-in-arms in alphabetical order.

Sapper Martin - Marto to his mates and just 21 - was first. Next came father of two Lance Corporal Milosevic, 40, and then unit larrikin Private Poate, 23..

A drummer beat time for the bearer party, which was led by a lone piper. The family members, some arm in arm, others leaning on a sturdy shoulder in their grief, followed the procession into a hangar bedecked with oversized flags and camouflage netting.

Chief of the Army Lieutenant General David Morrison described it as a "cathartic moment" for the families, bringing them together with army personnel to mark the service and sacrifice of their beloved men. Each of their commanding officers spoke movingly, not just of the soldiers they had been, but of the fine men they were.

Lieutenant Colonel Mark Welburn of the 2/14th Light Horse Regiment (Queensland Mounted Infantry) said Lance Corporal Milosevic would be remembered for his maturity, loyalty and uncompromising sense of right and wrong. "He is now and forever part of the Light Horse," he said.

The commanding officer of the 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment, Paul Foura, said Sapper Martin was an intellectual soldier and dedicated family man who had, with his teammates in the High Risk Search Group, performed one of the most dangerous jobs in Afghanistan. "Marto - the regiment, the army and the world won't be the same without you," Lieutenant Colonel Foura said.

Lieutenant Colonel Mark Jennings of 6RAR - one of the army's frontline infantry battalions - said the popular Private Poate invariably drove the first vehicle in any convoy because "We only put our best out front".

Two other Diggers killed in a helicopter crash within hours of the "green-on-blue" shootings on August 29 by an Afghan soldier were received yesterday at RAAF Richmond, outside Sydney.

The families of Lance Corporal Mervyn McDonald and Private Nathanael Galagher, of the 2nd Command Regiment, have requested privacy.