By the light of a fading full moon early Wednesday morning, members of the Canadian Forces bade farewell to a young reservist who came to Afghanistan undeterred by the danger he knew he faced.

Soldiers carry the flag-draped casket of Cpl. Nathan Hornburg, a reservist with King's Own Calgary Regiment, on a tarmac in Kandahar on Wednesday.
(CBC)

Cpl. Nathan Hornburg, 24, of Calgary was killed by a mortar shell Monday afternoon as he fixed a track that had fallen off a Leopard tank, becoming the 71st Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan.

Hundreds of soldiers lined the tarmac at Kandahar Airfield as pallbearers delivered the flag-draped casket in a light armoured vehicle (LAV).

"Edmund Burke said the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing," said the military chaplain, Maj. Pierre Bergeron, as he eulogized the soldier before his journey home.

"As a reservist, Cpl. Hornburg could have stayed in Canada and continued working as a landscaper. Rather, he chose to serve and do something to make this world a better place."

Cpl. Nathan Hornburg, 24, was remembered as a man who loved his family, was a good leader, told funny jokes and played hockey.
(DND/Pte. Melissa Spence/Canadian Press)

Hornburg, who grew up in Calgary and was a reservist with King's Own Calgary Regiment, chose to serve in Afghanistan.

Before deploying in August he told a Calgary newspaper that he would not be deterred from what he believed was an important mission.

"We know it's a mess and that's why we're there," he told the Calgary Sun.

The military chaplain urged the soldiers to pray for the fallen soldier's loved ones and said that Hornburg's passing was a sad reminder that death is always painful for those who remain.

"For those of us who remain, we too have chosen to do something," Bergeron said. "Courage is not the absence of fear but the determination to do what is right in spite of our fear."

'Nathan was my best friend'

On Tuesday, Brig.-Gen. Guy Laroche, Canada's military commander in Afghanistan, offered his condolences to the Hornburg family, who requested privacy.

"There is no way to comfort those who are grieving today except to say that Cpl. Hornburg was involved in a mission he believed in," Laroche said at Kandahar airfield.

Back in Calgary, soldiers at Hornburg's base remembered a friend who played hockey, loved his family, was a good leader and told funny jokes.

"Nathan was my best friend," Pte. Michael Pederson said, his eyes filling with tears. "He is the reason why I enlisted in the Canadian Forces.… He is a hero of mine and always will be."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper mentioned Canada's latest loss on the battlefield during a speech in New York City on Tuesday.

Canada is in Afghanistan "because we believe it is noble and necessary," Harper said.

He said Canadian troops have been in one of the most violent regions of Afghanistan, in Kandahar province, since 2005.
 
"And there has been a significant price — as we were reminded [Monday] with the death of a Canadian soldier," Harper said.

Including Hornburg, 71 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed in the war-torn country since the mission began in 2002.

Canada has about 2,500 soldiers in Afghanistan, most of them stationed in the south, as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

Canada deployed its troops shortly after the United States invaded in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

With files from the Canadian Press