ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - Two soldiers who died in Afghanistan this month were remembered Saturday with words such as "brave" and "determination" as hundreds of mourners paid their respects at separate funerals.

Services for Cpl. Chad O'Quinn, 24, were held at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in New Brunswick, while a funeral for Warrant Officer Dennis Brown, 38, was held in St. Catharines, Ont.

The two soldiers, along with Cpl. Danny Oliver Fortin, died when a roadside bomb exploded near a patrol northwest of Kandahar City on March 3.

About 600 mourners crammed into the chapel at CFB Gagetown. A video feed was played in a second church on the base for another 200 people who couldn't get into the main service.

Maj. Dave Yarker described O'Quinn, 24, as charismatic.

"It is his determination in life that has come to define him," he said. "He died fighting for his country, doing what he believed in and doing it bloody well."

Rev. Bruce McKenna said O'Quinn lifted people up.

"His warmth and his smile stayed with you," he said.

Speaking to O'Quinn's family, McKenna said the young soldier was also trying to support the people of Afghanistan when he died.

"You know the cost of raising up vulnerable people in Afghanistan," he said.

O'Quinn has been described by his family as a free spirit who was always adventurous. He rode and jumped dirt bikes as a youth and later skydived.

Naomi Holder, O'Quinn's fiancee, said Friday they planned to marry, travel the world and start a family.

In St. Catharines, hundreds lined the streets and hundreds more packed a local armoury to remember Brown.

He was described as a wonderful family man and "brave soldier" who died serving freedom and his country and keeping Canadians safe.

In a message read to about 850 mourners as tears streamed down his face, Brown's 12-year-old son, Mackenzie, praised his father as a "great brave man" who went far away to fight for freedom.

"I would run a thousand miles just to see his face or hear his voice one more time," the boy said.

"I keep thinking that I'm in a dream, this isn't real, and I think, `Why did he have to die?' It isn't fair."

Brown's Maple-Leaf-draped casket arrived on a gun carriage at the armoury, home to the Lincoln and Welland Regiment, as soldiers and sympathizers lined the sun-drenched street outside.

Some waved flags as they stood watching.

Among them was Joe Zettler, who came to pay respects to a man who "gave his life for us."

Zettler said he felt it especially important he be there "with what's going on there (in Afghanistan) right now and the number of soldiers that are falling."

Brown's widow, Mishelle, said she felt lost and overwhelmed by the loss of her "hero" and she implored Canadians to support their military and the mission in Afghanistan.

"As you sit at the dinner table with your family every night, enjoying large portions of food without worrying that your house may be blown up by rockets, it's because of soldiers like my husband," Brown said.

"As you walk freely down the streets without fear of a car bomb exploding, ripping the hand of a loved one out of yours, it's because of soldiers like my husband."

Family and friends said Brown, who since 2001 had served in civilian life as a police special constable in charge of prisoner escorts, was always fascinated with the army.

He joining the reserve unit as a raw 18-year-old and began excelling at things military.

In a service that was webcast so soldiers in Afghanistan and an overflow crowd at a nearby church could watch and listen, Lt.-Col. Matt Richardson, head of Brown's regiment, praised his comrade as an "instant leader."

"He would not want us to remember him as a victim of war," Richardson said. "He would want us to remember him as a soldier."

Dignitaries in attendance included Brig.-Gen. John Collin, head of the Canadian army in Ontario.

Brown's best friend, Warrant Officer Steve Ward, said his buddy isn't really gone because he will not be forgotten.

"Hard times are upon us but we will hold our heads up high. We will soldier on," Ward said.

"We will remember him, not for ourselves, but for our country."

Brown's casket was taken to a nearby cemetery following a journey past his home. The burial service included a bugler and an artillery salute.

Besides Mackenzie, Brown is survived by sons Owen, 9, and Benjamin, 7, as well as his wife's daughter, Jenna, 12, and his parents Ed and Sadie Brown.

The three soldiers who died had just defused a roadside bomb and were returning to their base when the explosion occurred. Two other soldiers were injured.

In all, 112 Canadian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since Canada's mission there began in 2002.

-- With files from Kevin Bissett and Colin Perkel