CALGARY (CBC) - The City of Calgary hopes to be able to honour the latest Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan at his memorial service, the mayor said Thursday as friends of Cpl. Michael Starker continued to mourn his death.

Mayor Dave Bronconnier said the city and emergency services would take part in the memorial, but only if the family requests it.

"We want to be there to show our support, but we want to do it in a very dignified and respectful way, and we want to respect the wishes of the family," Bronconnier said. "It's not a matter of how we participate, it's a matter of what the family feels."

Funeral arrangements for the 36-year-old reservist have not yet been set, though the city announced Thursday afternoon that a public memorial would be held in Calgary. The date and exact location are still to be determined.

In a release, the city said Emergency Medical Services was working directly with the armed forces and the soldier's family to prepare the funeral arrangements.

Starker was killed Tuesday during an ambush while conducting a foot patrol in the Pashmul region, outside Kandahar city. Starker arrived in Afghanistan in December with 15 Field Ambulance.

Bronconnier said he personally expressed the city's condolences to the soldier's widow, Nicole Starker.

"The Starker family and Nicole certainly knows that our hearts and prayers are with them and that we are here to help them in any way we can," he said.

The mayor also said that flags would be flying at half-mast at city hall on Friday when Starker's body is scheduled to land for a repatriation ceremony at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, in eastern Ontario.

Friend saw firefight

On Thursday, friends and family continued to come to terms with the death of the soldier, who has been described as a dedicated, loyal and highly skilled man who loved his work as both a paramedic and as a solider.

Master Cpl. Fabio Lacentra, also a medic with 15 Field Ambulance, said the attack that took his friend's life occurred within sight of the Canadian operating base in Masum Ghar, about 35 kilometres west of Kandahar.

"We could see it from where we were; we could see the firefight going on," he told the Canadian Press, recalling hearing gunfire and watching the base commander run out onto the walls to see what was going on.

Lacentra, 40, said he had known Starker for 10 years, working with him in the reserves and as emergency medical technicians in Calgary.

When the radio said Canadians were wounded, Lacentra said he didn't want to believe it was Starker, whom he described as a person of "amazing character and strength."

"I kind of knew it was him, but I hoped it was somebody else. Right? That's not a good thing to say," he said.

"I didn't believe it was him, because I know how well trained Mike is. He's an ex-sniper. I just kept thinking it was someone else because there was no way Mike would get shot that way."

Lacentra said that since getting the news he has reminisced about going out with Starker on ambulance calls, sharing an anecdote about a time when he wanted to impress his instructor and Starker, who was driving, by inserting an intravenous line in a patient as they travelled to the hospital.

The ambulance hit a bump, and he missed putting in the line. Starker looked at him with "a crook smile," telling him not to be cocky, he said.

"That was the kind of thing he'd do; he wouldn't tell you, 'Don't do this,' and he wouldn't purposely try to make you fail, but when it did happen, just the look, you could see it on his face. I should have known better."

He said that watching the firefight has changed his perspective and made the dangers of serving seem more real.

Another Calgary paramedic heads overseas

The death of a friend also emphasized the danger for fellow Calgary paramedic Cpl. Alasdair Robertson-More.

Robertson-More flew out Wednesday to join the crew of an American naval ship on a mission in southeast Asia.

He said that following Starker's death, he was shaken and had considered not going.

"It would have been nice to be here for him, for his family, for the unit, but I think this would have been important for him, to have me carry on, and that's why I'm going to go ahead with this," he said.

Robertson-More's mother, Joanne, told CBC News that she is nervous, but understands his eagerness to serve.

"You're always concerned for your child," she said. "The medical mission that Alasdair is going on, I think it will be a fantastic opportunity for him."

She said she is already looking forward to the day her son returns home.

With files from the Canadian Press

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