Family mourns 'good guy' soldier killed in roadside blast

Pte. John Curwin is being remembered as adoting father, avid hockey playerand proud soldier.

Curwin, from Mount Uniacke, N.S., was one of three soldiers killed last weekend in Afghanistan when a roadside bomb went off.

"John was loved by everyone who knew him," his family says in a statement. "We will always have him with us and will love him forever."

Curwin grew up in Mount Uniacke, north of Halifax. He graduated from Windsor High School in 2000. He andchildhood sweetheart Laura, who met at age 15, have three children: Makayla, Michael and Jenna.

He was always the "good guy," the family says, "always there to do what was right, what was needed, and always willing to give whatever he could for his family and friends."

Curwin loved to play hockey and the online game Call of Duty, "regardless of the time of day and how many times Laura called for him."

Curwin is also being remembered for his determination to do his best, his skill as a rifleman and his love of the army.

Curwin was killed when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device near Kandahar City on Saturday. Cpl. Thomas Hamilton, from Upper Musquodoboit, N.S., and Pte. Justin Peter Jones of Baie Verte, N.L., also died in the blast.

Their bodies are being transported back to Canada and are expected to arrive at CFB Trenton in Ontario on Tuesday.

Flags outside the Nova Scotia legislature were lowered to half-mast Monday in honour of Curwin and Hamilton.

"We share the sorrow with their families and their comrades, and we share their conviction that they will be remembered for their efforts to bring peace to a troubled land," Premier Rodney MacDonald said in a release.

A memorial service at CFB Gagetown for the three fallen soldiers will be held in the new year.