OTTAWA: Thousands of mourners lined the streets of the Canadian city of Hamilton yesterday for the funeral procession of a soldier killed last week in an attack in the nation’s capital.
Wailing bagpipes and a solitary drum beat broke a solemn silence as hundreds of soldiers, veterans and police officers marched alongside the flag-draped casket of Corporal Nathan Cirillo to a cathedral in his hometown.
His bereaved family, including his six-year-old son wearing his father’s beret, also participated in the funeral procession, viewed on television by millions nationwide.
Cirillo was fatally shot last week while standing watch at the War Memorial in Ottawa. His attacker, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, then stormed into parliament and exchanged fire with police before being shot dead.
The attack was one of two targeting Canadian soldiers just days apart. Another soldier, Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, was killed on October 20 in a hit and run east of Montreal. He will be laid to rest on Saturday.
Both attacks came as Canada deployed fighter jets to join US-led air strikes on the Islamic State group in Iraq. Police say both assailants were converts to Islam with alleged extremists views.
“Two of our own have made the ultimate sacrifice, and we celebrate their lives and mourn their deaths,” said Governor General David Johnston.
In his eulogy, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the war memorial is a reminder that “freedom is never free. It has been earned by the soldier and then donated to all of us.”
“Most of us can never truly understand the significance to a soldier of the simple act of standing reverently on guard at that place,” he said.
“Corporal Cirillo, who felt the calling of a soldier when he was just a 13-year-old cadet, he understood. He knew what he was protecting and what he was preserving. He died protecting and preserving it.”
In Ottawa, visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier where Cirillo fell, in his honour.
Washington’s top diplomat said he came to offer condolences and express America’s “deep solidarity” with its northern neighbour and closest ally. AFP
