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Braun laid to rest
Will Chabun
Leader-Post
Thursday, August 31, 2006
CREDIT: CP PHOTO/Jonathan Hayward
Mother of Cpl. David Braun, Patty along with his two brothers Chris and Mike along with sister Diana look on as his coffin is put into a hearse during a repatriation ceremony at CFB Trenton, Ont. Saturday August, 26, 2006.
CREDIT: CP PHOTO/HO - DND
Cpl. David Braun is seen in an undated handout photo. Braun was killed in suicide attack on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2006 in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
RAYMORE, Sask. -- Silent and solemn, a block-long line of soldiers and Royal Canadian Legion members, all raising their hands in salute, helped the family of David Braun bid farewell to the young army corporal Thursday afternoon.
Their poignant salute followed an emotional funeral service for the 27-year-old corporal, killed in action near Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Aug. 22 while serving with the 2nd Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
In a wide-ranging eulogy, Terry Braman, Braun’s best friend since boyhood, told stories of a typical small-town Saskatchewan kid, fun-loving and fiercely loyal to his family, the kind of guy who wore a tuxedo and running shoes to his 1997 graduation from Raymore High School — in the gymnasium where his funeral service was held Thursday afternoon.
Hundreds of townspeople, military personnel and mourners from all over central Saskatchewen had packed the gym in this town 100 kilometres north of Regina a full 30 minutes before the funeral service began.
At one point during The Battle Hymn of the Republic, husky young men were dabbing at their eyes. As it ended, one woman’s sobbing could be heard.
Stationed at CFB Shilo, Man., Braun is survived by his mother, sister, and two brothers.
Braman told hundreds of mourners that Braun’s death filled him with a powerful sense of loss, one that was "overpowered by something stronger: Intense pride."
He said his friend never spoke of any fear in going to Afghanistan, but "simply said, ‘I didn’t re-sign my (enlistment) contract to sit around Shilo, that’s for sure.’ "
Rev. Rey Dahlen, in his gospel, praised Braun for his commitment in defending not only the rights and freedoms of Canadians, but also those of the people of Afghanistan.
Noting the warm reception his own father, a veteran of the wartime Canadian Army, received several years ago from the people of the Netherlands, Dahlen said there will come a time when "all the people of God and this Earth will give a royal reception to everyone who has laid down his life for his friends."
Terry’s father, Jim Braman, who had taught and coached Braun over many years in this town of about 700, joked that the high-spirited Braun’s favourite TV channel was whatever was showing Looney Tunes — followed by the History Channel, Discovery and CNN, emphasizing Braun’s growing interest in the Canadian Forces and world affairs during his adolescence.
From that came a strong belief in the righteousness of Canada’s military support for the fledgling government in Afghanistan against domestic and foreign insurgents.
Paraphrasing English philospher Edmund Burke and his famous quote about how all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing, Jim said, "David Braun was a good kid who grew up to be a good man — who refused to be silent..."
"He’s speaking volumes to us now. Please listen to what he said," the elder Braman continued. "Remember him. Be proud of him."
The funeral was followed by a private interment ceremony at the Raymore Protestant Cemetery.
Braun’s family has indicated that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Corporal David Braun Memorial Raymore School Student Enhancement Program in care of the Raymore Savings and Credit Union, P.O. Box 460, Raymore, Sask., S0A 3J0.