Field of Crosses display thanks fallen soldiers for ultimate sacrifice
In his iconic 1915 poem In Flanders Fields, Lt.-Col. John McCrae wrote of poppies growing between crosses, marking the place of fallen soldiers in France during the First World War.
And in Calgary, thousands of crosses and flags honouring Canadian servicemen and women will stand vigil near the bank of the Bow River, along Memorial Drive, in honour of Remembrance Day.
On Saturday, more than 3,400 crosses were placed below McHugh Bluff, between 3rd Street N.W. and Centre Street, by more than 100 volunteers and veterans.
Tom Leppard, executive director of the Field of Crosses Memorial Project — now in its 10th year — said the memorial serves as a “homecoming” for the more than 4,000 Canadian Armed Forces members from southern Alberta who were “buried where they fell” while in combat or on peacekeeping missions.
“We talk about the sacrifice, but this shows us the sacrifice,” Leppard said of the crosses, which bear the names of fallen service members.
“They got on a train in Calgary. They left. They never came back. This is sort of our tribute to them, saying, ‘Thank you for what you did, for your sacrifice, and allowing us to have the life that we lead here today.’”
On Remembrance Day, three artillery guns will mark the 100th anniversary of the 1918 armistice, which ended the First World War, with a 21-gun salute.
Retired Royal Canadian Air Force Capt. Dan McLean, president of a Canadian Army Veterans Unit in Calgary, spent 23 years in the armed forces during the height of the Cold War.
He said the crosses along Memorial Drive should also serve as a reminder of the struggles facing surviving veterans of more conflicts, including those who served in Afghanistan and the Balkans.
“A lot of them came back from that and they’re hurting, either with physical injuries or with mental injuries,” he said.
“Keep that in mind. It’s not just Second World War veterans, it’s these younger people.”
McLean is also a founding member of the new Veterans Association Food Bank, which was started after a similar food bank run by the Royal Canadian Legion was closed earlier this year.
He thanked Calgarians for their donations and urged citizens to keep veterans front-of-mind while making charitable donations this year as Remembrance Day and the holiday season approaches.
The Field of Crosses memorial — supported by the Canadian Legacy Project and made possible by the McCann Family Foundation — will remain on display until Nov. 11.
Starting on Thursday, the site will host sunrise and sunset ceremonies honouring the fallen, featuring the Calgary Fire Department Pipes and Drums band.
Capt. Rob Zimich with the department, who is also the former pipe major, said first responders “have a connection” to serving armed forces due to mental illnesses such as PTSD being so common among service members.
“The brotherhood and sisterhood is a lot bigger than just police, fire and EMS,” Zimich said. “It’s the veterans, it’s the active members . ... We’re all one big group.
“We suffer together and we have good times together. We look after each other, and that’s part of the reason why we come out here. We all have a connection, and this is how we feel we can help out.”