Updated Fri. Dec. 8 2006 1:55 PM ET
Canadian Press
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. -- Hundreds of mourners gathered Friday to say goodbye to Cpl. Albert Storm, one of two soldiers recently killed by a suicide bomber in southern Afghanistan.
Storm,
who received a full military funeral at the armoury in St. Catharines,
Ont., was to be laid to rest at the foot of his mother's grave.The 36-year-old native of Fort Erie, Ont., was a decorated soldier who had served in trouble spots around the globe.
Storm's commanding officer, Maj. Peter Scott, told mourners his slain comrade was a "modest and humble individual'' and "a model soldier who gave his all in everything he did.''
The burly Storm was renowned for his physical strength, and could weightlift 350 pounds, Scott recalled.
"Albert was the kind of guy who when asked to dig a hole, would probably dig all the way to China if you didn't tell him to stop,'' Scott said.
"That was the way Stormy was: quiet, but a force to be reckoned with.''
Storm was the father of two children -- 13-year old Joshua and 11-year-old Danika.
He was three years from retiring from the Forces.
Storm
and Chief Warrant Officer Bobby Girouard, 46, were in an armoured
personnel carrier when a civilian vehicle drove alongside and detonated
explosives on Nov. 27.Their flag-draped caskets were returned to Canada last Friday in a repatriation ceremony at CFB Trenton.
Both men served with the Royal Canadian Regiment based in Petawawa, Ont.
Storm was an army cadet prior to enlisting in the Canadian Forces in 1990, and was later deployed to Bosnia and Croatia.
He was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan.