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.

Warrant Officer Frank Mellish, Pte. William Cushley and Sgt. Shane Stachnik also died in the fighting.

A fifth soldier, Pte. Mark Graham, died a day later when he was accidentally strafed by a U.S. warplane.

Since 2002, 32 Canadian troops and one diplomat have died in Afghanistan.

Canada has about 2,200 troops in the country, most of them based in Kandahar.