Canada's first female combat soldier to be killed in action was buried Wednesday in Ottawa's National Military Cemetery.

Eight soldiers escorted Capt. Nichola Goddard's casket to her final resting place, followed by a 40-member guard marching in unison.

The pallbearers were all from Goddard's own regiment, the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery.

Goddard's husband Jason Beam was presented with the Canadian flag that draped the coffin.

Beam and Goddard's parents Tim and Sally Goddard were among the family members and friends attending the sombre ceremony.

Other mourners included Vice-Admiral Ron Buck, the vice-chief of the defence staff, and Minister of Indian Affairs Jim Prentice.

A chaplain from the 3rd battalion, Royal Horse Artillery, led the Anglican service.

"I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write. From henceforth blessed are the dead which die in the Lord," read Capt. Dennis Newhook.

After the funeral, those who knew Goddard said she fiercely intelligent and lived to help others -- qualities that served her well in the military.

"She excelled in everything she did and was a compassionate leader," family friend Jose Rodriguez told CTV News.

Another friend, Janet Sheehan, first met Goddard when the future soldier was just four years old.

"She was precocious, lively, just a real handful. She was sweet, sweet, sweet," remembered Sheehan.

Goddard, 26, was killed May 17 in Afghanistan after being hit by shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Taliban insurgents.

She was at her post as a forward observation officer in a light-armoured vehicle when the Canadian military unit came under attack.

Goddard was remembered by her father as a "good soldier who died a soldier's death" during an emotional funeral in a Calgary church that was attended by nearly 1,000 mourners on May 26.

"Yours was a short life but a good one. You had so much promise, so much potential, and the world is a far lesser place with your passing," Tim Goddard said.

The Calgary native was the 16th Canadian soldier to be killed in Afghanistan. All the other fallen soldiers have been buried in their hometowns.

The National Military Cemetery was established in 2001 at the urging of Gen. Romeo Dallaire, now a senator, who believed Canada needed burial grounds that were equivalent to the American military cemetery in Arlington, Va.

A spokesman for the Goddard family told The Canadian Press last month that the decision to bury her in Ottawa was made because of its central location, not because of her role in history.

Any Canadian soldier who is killed in the line of duty or who has been honourably discharged may be buried at the National Military Cemetery.

Along with her name, Goddard's gravestone is etched with the crest of her regiment, her service number and rank.

Up one row is the grave of Cpl. Robbie Beerenfenger, killed in October 2003 by a landmine explosion in Afghanistan.

With files from The Canadian Press