MURDERED soldier Sgt Joseph Antoni Woodley, who was remembered as a "gentleman" and a "patriot", was killed by men with "corrupt desires".

"A disgraceful occurrence for a man who lived and served for grace in the land," said Fr Kenneth Assing.

He was delivering the homily during the funeral for Woodley yesterday at the Church of the Assumption in Maraval, Port of Spain.

The 44-year-old member of the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment, whose members turned out in full force for the funeral, including Chief of Defence Staff Brigadier General Kenrick Maharaj, was fatally shot on February 16.

The Five Rivers, Arouca, native was shot multiple times while at the corner of Siparia Hill and Basilon Street, East Dry River, Port of Spain. Woodley, the father of eight-year-old Ayesha, was discovered lying face-down on the roadway around 1 a.m. by police responding to a report of a shooting in the area.

Assing yesterday asked people to dismiss from their minds how Woodley was killed and reported that he was simply returning from visiting some cousins.

"And anyone of us here can be a victim of that," he added. "The upright man or woman who dies condemns the godless who survive," Assing stressed.

Woodley was a member of the Regiment for the past 21 years and was last assigned to the Second Infantry Battalion at the Heliport in Chaguaramas. Members served as pallbearers and the band yesterday.

Woodley was pursuing a Bachelor of Sciences degree in management at the School of Business and Computer Science and had hoped to get into computers after retiring from the military.

His brother, Robin Woodley, a former soldier, said in the eulogy that the deceased may have joined the Regiment out of "hero worship" for him, and noted they were "very close". He recalled that his brother gave him all of his first salary and then asked for "passage" to go home.

Lt Barry George, in his eulogy, described Woodley as a "gentleman, a hero and a friend".

"A fine young man and a credit to the uniform," George added.

He also urged people not to speculate about why he was killed. Woodley was given full military rites.

His casket was followed by a Regiment band, soldiers, family and friends to the St James Crematorium, where he was scheduled to receive a gun salute.

Investigations into his death are continuing.