CFB TRENTON -- A loved one's return home for the holidays should be a time of celebration and joy, but Lt. Andrew Nuttall's arrival on Canadian soil was marked by half-mast flags, tears and a crowd of approximately 250 people.

Nuttall, the 134th Canadian soldier to be killed in Afghanistan, died Dec. 23 when an improvised explosive device detonated during a foot patrol.

A repatriation ceremony that had originally been scheduled for Sunday afternoon took place yesterday with the area south of the base, known as Repatriation Row, filled with residents wishing to pay their respects to the dead soldier and his family.

"My father was in the army too and I think we have to take care of our soldiers. I think those soldiers are here to protect us and we owe them this at the very least," said Helen Smith, a resident of St. Jean, Que., who was in Trenton visiting her brother.

Smith said she was pleased to learn the repatriation ceremony would take place during her visit to the area.

"If I could, I'd come from Quebec for every one of them," she said.

Smith's brother, Jean Marc Harvey, said he has attended nearly every repatriation ceremony, most of them as an observer on the tarmac.

A sergeant with the aerospace and telecommunications squadron, Harvey said watching the ceremony from the other side of the fence is special.

"They're all emotional but for the last couple of ones they've been very emotional," he said. "It's hard with the family there and it's just a shame."

With his retirement only one month away, Harvey said he intends to continue attending the ceremonies to show his support for the troops -- except he'll have to watch repatriations with civilains along Old Hwy. 2.

Bob Mitts hasn't attended all the repatriations at CFB Trenton, but estimates he has witnessed half of them and plans to attend as many as he can until there are no more.

He said it was encouraging to see a large crowd because yesterday was a holiday for many people.

"It's the Canadian thing to do," he said, looking over the gathered residents. "I hear stories of the soldiers coming back in the United States and they get nothing compared to what we do here. When it comes to patriotism they have nothing like this."

Mitts said while there is never a good time for a soldier to die, his heart goes out to Nuttall's family considering his death was so close to Christmas.

However, he said, Nuttall knew the risks involved with the mission in Afghanistan and, from his understanding, was willing to take them. His family should be proud, Mitts added.

"I think his parents are probably very proud of their son, they're probably proud of their boy," he said.

Nuttall, 30, was from Prince Rupert, B.C., and served with the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry based in Edmonton. He is survived by his mother, Jane, and father, Richard.

Nuttall's death marked the first death of a Canadian soldier in Afghanistan in nearly two months.

Sapper Steven Marshall was killed Oct. 30 due to an improvised explosive device.