OTTAWA -- The young corporal who was standing sentry alongside Cpl. Nathan Cirillo the day he was killed is set to return to duty.
Cpl. Branden Stevenson says he's preparing to return to his post at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the coming days.
Stevenson was at the National War Memorial on the morning of Oct. 22 when Michael Zehaf Bibeau killed Cirillo and then stormed onto Parliament Hill, where he died in a gunfight in the Centre Block.
Stevenson says he'd been best friends with Cirillo since Grade 9 and is still grieving and in shock.
In a statement, he says he's choosing to return to work to honour Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, who was killed that same week in Quebec by a man with jihadist sympathies.
Stevenson says he still believes Canada is a nation of peace and he remains proud and committed to his task as sentry.