REGINA — Michelle Lang didn’t wear a uniform, but she bravely answered the call to go to Afghanistan.

Despite knowing the risks, the former Regina Leader-Post and Calgary Herald journalist went to the war-torn country because she was committed to telling the stories of Canadians working to make life better for Afghans.

Lang was just two weeks into a six-week assignment with Canwest News Service (now Postmedia News) when she was killed Dec. 30 just outside Kandahar City.

A plaque honouring Lang and 14 soldiers with ties to Saskatchewan who died during the Canadian military mission in Afghanistan was unveiled Saturday at the Saskatchewan War Memorial in Regina.

When they were notified that their daughter’s name would be inscribed with the soldiers’ names on the memorial, Art and Sandra Lang made the painful decision to attend the ceremony.

It was their first trip from their Vancouver home to the Queen City since their 34-year-old daughter died. Lang and four Canadian soldiers were killed when the armoured vehicle in which they were travelling struck an improvised explosive device.

“We felt it was an honour and we should be here to participate in that honour,” Art said following the ceremony. “As difficult as it is to bring it front-of-mind, we felt it was something we had to do.”

They said a day doesn’t go by that they don’t remember and mourn the loss of their daughter.

“There’s such a hole in our life,” Sandra said. “I just can’t believe that it happened, but it did. She was such a wonderful kid and we loved her so much.”

Art recalled how shy Michelle was as a child.

“She became so inquisitive and we were surprised at how aggressive she got when she was on the trail of a story,” he said. “These young people were there doing a job and to some extent, they realized the risks they were running, but of course, nobody expects it to happen to them.”

Lang was working for the Calgary Herald when she accepted the assignment to go to Afghanistan. She told her parents about her plans a year before she left on Dec. 11.

“I was very, very upset when she first told me,” Sandra said tearfully. “But the year passed by and there weren’t any journalists killed and I got more used to the idea. I thought it was going to be all right, but it wasn’t.”

Lang was the first Canadian journalist killed in Afghanistan since the Canadian mission began there.

“There was no talking her out of doing it,” Sandra said. “She’d made up her mind that she was going to go and tell the stories.”

Lang’s name is the only civilian name on the Afghanistan plaque. The memorial is located on the Saskatchewan legislative grounds, just west of the legislative building.

One of the last stories she filed was about the sendoff ceremony for Lt. Andrew Nuttall, formerly of Regina. The 30-year-old Nuttall was killed by a roadside bomb on Dec. 23.

“I just hated to be here, but wild horses would not keep me away,” said Richard Nuttall, Andrew’s father.

“I have such mixed feelings: I don’t want to be here because the loss of Andrew is made real again. But (memorial ceremonies) are actually very healing and it’s reassuring. And it’s honouring Andrew — and I am very pleased to honour Andrew.”

Gen. Walt Natynczyk, chief of the defence staff of the Canadian Forces, said he’d met many of the soldiers in theatre and had spent considerable time with Lang over Christmas travelling through theatre.

“To see their names are here, so that their names will forever be remembered and alongside all of those who served Canada in generations before, is so important,” Natynczyk said. “It is very humbling to be here today and to share this with all of the families so they know that their loved ones’ service and sacrifice will never be forgotten by our country.”

He said it was right that Lang’s name was inscribed with those of soldiers.

“She has served her country,” Natynczyk said.

Sen. Pamela Wallin, a former television journalist, said the ceremony was a fitting tribute to the amazing service and dedication of the soldiers and Lang.

“It’s to hard to imagine what motivates these young men and women,” she said after the ceremony. “When I was last there with Peter MacKay, the defence minister, we went out to one of the forward-operating bases and we asked how many people were on their first tour and there was just a handful. We said, ‘Second or third or fourth?’ and the number of hands kept going up.

“I know they’re there because they think it’s the right thing to do and they’re there because they’re making a difference. And the families tell me every day, and they told me again today, they hope we stay and finish the job.”

When asked about Lang, Wallin said: “I’m sure her family is extraordinarily proud of her. I’m very proud that her name is there.”

Regina Leader-Post, with a file from Will Chabun