It was a day of reminders of the human cost of war Friday, with the body of a Canadian colonel returned to home soil and a young soldier's funeral in his hometown.

Both were killed in Afghanistan, just days apart.

A plane carrying Col. Geoff Parker, the highest-ranking officer to die since the Afghan mission began, landed on the tarmac at CFB Trenton in eastern Ontario in the warm afternoon sun.

Family members laid red roses on his flag-draped casket as dignitaries including Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean, Defence Minister Peter McKay and Gen. Walt Natynczyk looked on.

Parker, 42, a native of Oakville, Ont., died Tuesday when a suicide bomber attacked a NATO convoy in Kabul. The explosion also killed five American soldiers and a dozen Afghan civilians.

His wife Mary Jane described him in a statement this week as her best friend and a great father to his two children, Charlie and Alex.

"The children and I will miss him dearly but know he is watching over us with the encouragement to 'put a smile on and move forward,"' she said. "I know we're not the first, but I pray we are the last."

In Barrie, Ont., soldiers, police and firefighters formed a long procession in the funeral for Pte. Kevin McKay, 24.

The son of a captain with the Toronto Fire Service, McKay was killed last week by a roadside bomb while on foot patrol near Kandahar city. He was just a few days from the end of his first tour of duty.

Streets in the southern Ontario city were lined with mourners, many dressed in red and waving Canadian flags, as McKay's casket was pulled behind an armoured personnel carrier to the Barrie Armoury.

Among those gathered to listen to the service on a PA system outside was Nelson Theriault, an ex-military man who felt it was his duty to pay his respects.

"Our young people are going to Afghanistan to fight a war that they can't win. They are very, very brave people," he said.

Described as "a soldier's soldier," McKay was a member of the Edmonton-based 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. His comrades spoke of his toughness, courage and quick wit.

Though born in the north Toronto-area community of Richmond Hill, McKay grew up in the Barrie area and attended school there.

He will be buried at the National Military Cemetery in Ottawa.

McKay was the 144th member of the Canadian military to die since the Afghan mission began in 2002. Parker was the 145th. A Canadian diplomat and a journalist have also been killed.