Updated: Tue Mar. 17 2009 11:55:44 AM

ctvtoronto.ca

Hundreds of mourners packed a Mississauga church Tuesday morning to pay tribute to a fallen soldier, killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan.

Trooper Marc Diab, a 22-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., died on March 8 as a result of a roadside bombing. The incident also wounded four other soldiers in the armoured vehicle transporting the men.

Hundreds of mourners showed up at Our Lady of Lebanon church in west Toronto on Tuesday.

They watched a video of Diab wearing army fatigues while driving a car and playing with kids at a youth camp he volunteered at. Another slide showed a smiling Diab kicking out from underneath a pile of sand that covered him on the beach. The video also showed him training with his army colleagues and kissing his long-time girlfriend Mary Bakarat.

The video was shot in tune to a song called "Tomorrow" that Diab had asked a friend to play at his funeral should he not return from Afghanistan.

The song kept repeating the words, "Tomorrow....don't cry we'll see each other tomorrow."

'Full of life'

A slide show of pictures showing Diab as a young child and then as a teen with his family and in the church was also shown.

His girlfriend's father, Charbel Barakat, said Diab was a true Canadian who valued the country as a "land of peace."

"As a Canadian your dream for peace and your love for everyone did not change but you felt the need to help in a special way, the most difficult way. You enlisted as a soldier," he said.

"Marc, you once told me, 'I will make you proud of me'," he continued. "You really did it son. We all, everybody, is proud of you."

Several of Diab's friends also spoke at the funeral service. They remembered a dedicated friend who had a special talent for making people laugh.

One friend said Diab could perfect any accent and imitate anybody he came across. He had a special gift for imitating Borat, a fictional character in a hit movie.

The friend also remarked on Diab's creativity and sense of humour.

"He made sure people could always hear us or see us no matter where we were," he said.

"He wanted to experience absolutely everything and brought us along with him," said another friend. "He was full of life and shared that with all of us."

Military salute

The military was on hand to salute Diab's casket as it entered the church, draped in a large Canadian flag. Police officers, firefighters and strangers also gathered outside the temple to pay their final respects. Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion also attended the service.

The pastor of the church remembered Diab -- who emigrated to Canada with his family in 2000 -- as a "polite, committed" community member who was an active leader at the church's summer camp.

"He helped youth stick together and was an example of faith and dedication to the church and the community," he said. "There were no complaints, no temper, no attitude but a positive one. Marc was a comforting, caring presence that was always ready to serve."

The pastor read out loud a letter of recommendation he wrote to the Canadian Army back in July 2004. In the letter, he told the Canadian Army that Diab was "the perfect person to represent Canada" and that he would be "an asset" to the mission in Afghanistan.

He recalled a "skinny 17-year-old" who called him, begging him to let him attend a church camping trip. He was the first to show up at the bus with a big music keyboard, two tents, a knapsack, sleeping bags and other camping equipment.

Diab served with the Royal Canadian Dragoons, based at CFB Petawawa, which is northwest of Ottawa.

Diab is the 112th Canadian soldier to die in Afghanistan since the mission mission began in 2002.

He was weeks away from returning home when he died. He told family members he was looking forward to proposing to girlfriend.

His mother Jihan Diab told CTV Toronto on March 9 her son knew from the time he was eight years old that he wanted a career in the military. When he left for overseas, he soothed her worries.

"He told me, 'Mom it's good. I won't be in danger so much'," she said.