Open this photo in gallery:
Mourners leave the funeral service for Pte. Shaun Farrell in Prince Albert, Sask., on Wednesday.Liam Richards/The Canadian Press
Pte. Shaun Farrell was remembered Wednesday as a hard-headed soldier, branded with a tattoo reading “Comfort Kills Dreams” and with a love for the hard guitar-riffing Ram Jam rock anthem Black Betty.
Hundreds of Canadian military personnel stood at attention and saluted as a flag-draped casket carrying Farrell’s body was escorted into the armoury in Prince Albert, Sask., for an hour-long funeral witnessed by family, friends and Premier Scott Moe.
The 23-year-old was one of four soldiers killed last month, when a grass fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta overtook troops in a training exercise. Thirty-nine others were injured, and many remain in hospital.
Open this photo in gallery:
Pte. Shaun Farrell in an undated handout photo published to social media.HO/The Canadian Press
“Shaun was a fighter,” Lt.-Col. James Cressall, commanding officer of the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, told the service.
Cressall said he never had a chance to meet Farrell but learned about him from friends and those who trained him.
“His instructors described him as a good, hard-headed, stubborn, determined dog. One simply said there was no breaking him,” Cressall said.
“Shaun had three words tattooed on his side: ‘Comfort Kills Dreams,’” he added.
“I think those words tell us a great deal about Shaun.”
A Canadian flag, paired with a regimental flag, was placed at the front of the armoury. Farrell’s military headdress and a wreath were laid on his casket next to large photo of him in uniform.
Farrell’s family, who moved to Prince Albert from South Africa when he was a teen, has said he had dyslexia and Asperger’s syndrome and was once told he’d never graduate high school. They said he refused to let labels or low expectations define him.
He enlisted in the military last year.
Pte. Luke Jessiman described Farrell as a fellow recruit who became a brother.
“We arrived as strangers, not knowing exactly what we had gotten ourselves into or what the months and years ahead would bring,” he said.
“When one of us was struggling, the other found a way to keep them going, and eventually we continued our training together.”
Matthew Meachem, a longtime friend, said he and Farrell would always try and put each other on the spot. “I would give anything for that one more day. You will never be forgotten. You left a mark on my life that nobody could ever replace.”
Soldier killed in CFB Wainwright fire remembered for his commitment and humour
Heloise Vermeulen, a family friend, read a final letter from Farrell’s mother. Patricia Farrell said she never imagined she would have to say goodbye to a child. And the day the military knocked on her door, she knew her life would never be the same.
“My heart aches that I will never get the last hug I asked for,” she wrote.
“I would give anything for one more naughty smile, one more cupcake, one more sassy comment, one more, ‘Yes Mommy,’ and one more, ‘I love you, Mommy.’”
Moe said the Canadian flag, which was flown at half-mast at the Saskatchewan legislature when Farrell was killed, was put into a shadow box and given to the family.
“We, as your Saskatchewan family, our hearts hurt for you and our hearts are with you each and every day,” Moe said.
The other soldiers killed in the fire were: Pte. Aidan Goulding, 23, of North Vancouver, B.C.; Pte. Hayden Lykkemark, 19, of Langley, B.C.; and Sgt. Morgan Wong, 26, of Edmonton.
The remains of Pte. Aidan Goulding, killed in the grass fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta on Oct. 17, have returned to British Columbia. The Canadian Press
A motorcade escorted the hearse carrying Goulding’s remains from the Vancouver airport to a funeral home in New Westminster on Wednesday.
Police and firefighters stood at attention and saluted as the hearse passed beneath a large Canadian flag strung over the road using fire truck ladders.
Sgt. Maj. Ray Gardner from the Vancouver Police Department was among those who lined the route to honour the 23-year-old soldier from North Vancouver.
Open this photo in gallery:
Pte. Aidan Goulding, 23, of North Vancouver in an undated handout photo.HO/The Canadian Press
Gardner, a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, shared his deepest condolences for Goulding’s family and said the young soldier “mattered to the country.”
“It’s so important that they can at least take that with them, that we all feel deeply, deeply affected,” he said.
“I know that all of Canada is feeling heartbroken about what happened,” Gardner said.
Fire Chief Jim Wishlove from Richmond Fire-Rescue said first responders had come from across Metro Vancouver to pay their respects to Goulding and the other soldiers who died, while showing support for their families.
“We’re hurting with them today,” he said.
“It brings it to light for us how incredibly dangerous all of these jobs are, and particularly the Armed Forces.
“These people are serving their communities, serving Canada.”
Brennan MacLachlan, a reservist with the Canadian Armed Forces and the emergency programs manager for the City of Richmond, said no words could assuage the grief the families of the soldiers who died are feeling.
“But we stand with them,” he said, after the motorcade carrying Goulding’s remains passed by.
“It’s a weight that we all carry.”