Calgary's Field of Crosses celebrating 14 years with the help of many volunteers
On a dark, frigid morning the Field of Crosses set up along a two hectare park next to Memorial Drive is lit by spotlights. It's enough light for volunteer Clyde Johnson to sweep the pathway. He wants to make sure it's just right for officials and the public attending the sunrise ceremony for the Women of War. Johnson is an American Vietnam veteran who now lives in Calgary and says cleaning up is a way for him to serve and remember those who have fallen for our freedom.
"The veterans that served didn't know they were serving, they were just doing their duty," he said. "The people that came back, we're the ones that actually felt the spirit of service because they said 'I did my duty' and that's what I feel now when I do my job here, when I volunteer I feel like I'm doing that service."
Murray McCann came up with the idea of the memorial in 2009 when he was driving through a small town in Georgia and spotted a line of crosses with the names of soldiers from the community who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
"And it just really hit me, I had never thought about it like that, I always wore a poppy but that's about all I did," McCann said. "Then I realized everything I had and there were these soldiers in graves so that I could have it."
EMOTIONAL EPIPHANY
It was an emotional epiphany for McCann who met up with a legion member once back home and together they envisioned a line of crosses along Memorial Drive. With no central registry of where Canadian enlisted were from, they came up with 850 soldiers who died while serving from southern Alberta.
McCann said the actual number was much larger.
"We've got 3,620 (names on crosses) here," he said. "We had already forgotten (almost) 2,800 who gave up their life and that will never happen again."
McCann said the person responsible for the annual display is Susan Schalin, the president of the Field of Crosses. She coordinates the 125 or so volunteers needed to set up and maintain the memorial.
"I guess maybe I was the catalyst and so many more got involved and they're proud of what they do and their pride shows," said McCann. "Every evening the Calgary Stampede volunteers come out and they straighten every cross because people walk between and sometimes you move across out of sync and so every morning if you'll notice, these crosses are as straight as can be."
EDUCATIONAL TOOL
Major (Ret.) Kent Griffiths is the communications officer for Field of Crosses who's held the role for four years.
"It's a really great educational tool, especially for our youth and our new Canadians, people who come here and wonder what Remembrance Day is all about," said Griffiths. "And it brings them all together to remember our dead, that's the important part and what they gave up for our freedom and our way of life."
Griffiths adds that visitors from across the country can pay their respects to fallen family members at 120 crosses marked with a red maple leaf representing the 120,000 Canadians who died for their country.
The Field of Crosses in Calgary. (Getty Images)
"So even if you come here, let's say you're from Saskatchewan and you're visiting and you're looking for Uncle Frank and Uncle Frank's cross isn't here, because he wasn't from southern Alberta," he said. "I direct you to the '120' and you can pick a cross, touch that cross and say Uncle Frank's name and you are remembering him at that time so it's a really great concept."
Jean-Yves Lalande has volunteered at the memorial for the last 14 years and says it's his way of giving back to his country and the fallen.
"The way I look at it is it's our turn to serve," he said. "So you get up, you do the job, you don't complain, it's cold, it's hot, it doesn't matter, this is our turn, this is like thanking them for what they did."
Learn more about the Field of Crosses here: fieldofcrosses.com
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
India's foreign minister reacts to murder charges, claims Canada welcomes criminals
India's Foreign Affairs Minister accused Canada of welcoming criminals from his country in response to the RCMP's recent arrests in a homicide that has roiled tensions between the two countries.
15-year-old boy stabbed in Ottawa on Thursday dies
A 15-year old boy who was critically injured after a stabbing in Nepean on Thursday has died of his injuries, Ottawa's English public school board said Sunday.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
'A tiny city:' Pro-Palestinian campus protesters organize for another week
Pro-Palestinian activists have set up tents at universities in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal, following a wave of similar protests at campuses in the United States linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
Lawsuit against Meta asks if Facebook users have right to control their feeds using external tools
Do social media users have the right to control what they see — or don't see — on their feeds?
A Holocaust survivor will mark that history differently after the horrors of Oct. 7
This year's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening in Israel, carries a heavier weight than usual for many Jews around the world.
Princess Anne lays wreath at Battle of Atlantic ceremony; honours late Queen
Princess Anne saluted Canadian veterans and current forces members and honoured her late mother during separate ceremonies Sunday in Victoria as she wrapped up a three-day British Columbia West Coast royal visit.
El Nino weakening doesn't mean cooler temperatures this summer, forecasters say
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.