Tears were broken with laughter as family and friends remembered the soldier slain in East Timor at his funeral in the small Waikato town of Te Kauwhata yesterday.
Private Leonard Manning's mother, Linda, read a letter she and her husband received from her son three days after he was gunned downby militia while on patrol duty in East Timor.
Friends and family recalled how 24-year-old Private Manning liked to play practical jokes, and draw cartoons at his mates' expense.
His sister, Laura Rees, asked the Prime Minister to keep sending troops to East Timor despite Leonard's death.
The army has vowed his murder will spark a renewed commitment to the troubled area.
Speaking at the funeral, Major Lang Sefton said the Army is determined to achieve a safe and secure life for Timorese people that have already suffered too much.
