ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -- Warrant Officer Richard Nolan was laid to rest with full military honours Thursday, hailed as a dedicated soldier and loving father.

Friends, family and his military comrades remembered Nolan and the sacrifices he made in Afghanistan at a funeral in St. John's.

Rev. Greg Bailey called the 39-year-old Nolan a "peacemaker."

"Now I know that for some, peacemaking may not fit their understanding of the role of a Canadian soldier," the padre told hundreds of mourners at the Basilica of St. John the Baptist.

"But I wonder, how can we keep something if it does not exist in the first place? There are situations in which, if you want to keep the peace, you will need to make it first. That's what Rick Nolan and his colleagues were trying to do."

Nolan was one of four Canadians killed Sept. 3 in a fierce battle with Taliban insurgents near Kandahar.

Photos by: MCpl Chris Connolly

6 September 2006

8 Wing Trenton Ontario

The remains of Warrant Officer Richard Francis Nolan were received during a solemn repatriation ceremony on the ramp at 8 Wing / Canadian Forces Base Trenton, 6 September 2006. Warrant Officer Nolan, a member of 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, based in Petawawa, Ontario was killed on September 3, 2006 fighting against Taliban insurgents approximately 15 km west of Kandahar City. Present to pay their respects were The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada and Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces, General Rick Hillier, Chief of the Defence Staff and Lieutenant-General Andrew Leslie, Chief of the Land Staff. Also present was Colonel David Brackett, United States Air Force.