My son died for freedom: soldier's father

The father of one of two Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan on the weekend says he doesn't blame anyone for his son's death and that he died fighting for a worthy cause.

George Gomez said his son, 44-year-old Cpl. Francisco Gomez, loved being in the military.

Gomez and Cpl. Jason Warren, 29,were killed Saturdayby asuicide bomberdriving a vehicle packed with explosives.

Gomez, 44, never married or had children. His father said he joined the army as soon as he graduated from high school.

"This is Francisco in the airborne,"the fathersaid,pointing at a picture in his Edmonton home. "And he really loved jumping out of a plane."

Francisco Gomezdid several peacekeeping tours and had almost completed his six-month tour in Afghanistan.

"We expected him to be back in another week or so," George Gomez said.

"We were looking forward to him coming and visiting and so were the little grandchildren because he plays with them."

Gomez said his son died fighting for freedom, something he says is a worthy cause.

The family's spiritual beliefs mean he will never be forgotten, said the soldier's father.

"We are not broken up about his death because we know from the philosophy that we have, he is still alive," saidGomez.

The body is like a cloak that the spirit inhabits," he said. "The mind and spirit never die."

In Montreal, Warren's family refused comment, but soldiers from his unit— the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada— remember the 29-year-old soldier as someone who raised their spirits and took care of younger troops.

Many members of the regiment plan to be at the airfield when his body is flown back to Canada on Tuesday.