CALGARY – Student volunteers from a Calgary high school will be working at the Field of Crosses site this weekend to help set up for next month's sunrise ceremonies.
Members of the Crescent Heights High School football team will be helping drill holes in the ground for the 3,500 cross markers in the park along Memorial Drive on Saturday and Sunday.
The students are taking on the task in memory of William "Willie" McKnight, a former Crescent Heights quarterback who also had a distinguished military career.
McKnight was killed in action on January 12, 1941 and Calgary's McKnight Boulevard was named in honour of him.
Organizers of the Field of Crosses memorial say it’s a great way for young people to get involved in history.
"Knowing that a former student sacrificed his life to help keep our freedoms and is now remembered in our city helps students remember," said Tom Leppard, executive director of the Field of Crosses Society, in a release.
This year's Field of Crosses includes 120 new ones set up in a different part of the field.
The event remembers the sacrifices made by 120,000 Canadian soldiers who gave their lives for freedom.
Daily sunrise and sunset ceremonies are held every day in November leading up to Remembrance Day.
Donations to the Field of Crosses are welcomed on the organization's website. You can also learn more about the project and the ceremonies themselves online.
