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MEDICINE HAT, Alta. — Under a cloudless sky, hundreds of people holding Canadian flags lined the streets of Medicine Hat on Saturday to silently mark Sapper Stephan Stock's final journey through his adopted city.
Sapper Stock, 25, originally from Campbell River, B.C., was among three 1 Combat Engineer Regiment troops based in Edmonton who were killed Aug. 20 in Afghanistan when a roadside bomb exploded near their armoured vehicle.
His funeral procession wound through the city toward the Patterson Armoury where friends, family and comrades gathered to say goodbye before the body of the dead soldier is interred.
“He died a hero serving the country that he loved but always remember that he lived a hero,” Cpl. Jonathan Cowan said during the eulogy.
Padre Ellis Jagoe leads as soldiers carry the casket of Sapper Stephan Stock from the Armoury after funeral services in Medicine Hat, Alberta on Saturday. Mr. Stock's brother Bryan and mother Leona are seen at the back, left. (Larry McDougal/Canadian Press)
After the 90-minute memorial service ended, Sapper Stock's mother, Leona, emerged from the armoury clutching a folded Canadian flag, her son's beret and his Afghan Service Medal as she held her husband David's hand.
The couple stood silently as the coffin was loaded into the hearse, then embraced Cpl. Cowan, their son's comrade and friend.
In this city of 60,000 – with a large population of both Canadian and British army veterans – about 400 people lined the procession route and gathered outside the service, which was closed by request of the family but was broadcast on a large screen outside.
Emotions were hard to hide as many along the procession route openly wept.
Rob (Mac) Macdonald, a veteran of the Rwandan peacekeeping mission and the Gulf War, didn't know Sapper Stock, but felt drawn to the service. He said things have changed in the way Canadians view their armed forces.
“There is a lot more support from the community and they really understand what is going on over there with our troops,” he said.
“People are realizing this is for real and it's beginning to hit home.”
With her husband and grandson sitting beside her, Joanne Bueckert said Canadians should honour their soldiers whether they are alive or have been killed.
“We ask these boys in times of war and peace to serve our country and they put their lives on the line for us,” she said, struggling to hold back tears.
“People should be here honouring them and giving respect to the parents who gave their child.”
Sapper Stock moved to Medicine Hat from Tsawwassen, B.C., with his parents in 2002 and joined the South Alberta Light Horse reserve unit shortly afterward.
He graduated from Medicine Hat College's engineering program in 2004 and joined the forces full-time the following year.
Friends and family remember Sapper Stock as a funny, warm-hearted person who would give the shirt of his back to help someone in need.
The deaths of Mr. Stock, Cpl. Dustin Wasden, 25, and Sgt. Shawn Eades, 33, bring the number of Canadian soldiers who have died during the Afghan mission to 93.
