No Stone Left Alone returns to honouring veterans in Calgary and across Canada

CALGARY -

Hundreds of students were at Burnsland Cemetery in southeast Calgary Monday to place poppies on each of the 4,550 headstones marking fallen Canadian soldiers. 

“It really does go through my mind that we owe every single soldier who has ever fought for this country an unimaginable amount of debt,” said Grade 9 student Matthew Novicky.

“They've been sent off to these faraway places, to Europe, to Afghanistan, to Asia, to fight for our way of life and also fight for the freedoms and rights of others.” 

The event is part of the No Stone Left Alone initiative which was launched in Edmonton in 2011 by Maureen Bianchini-Purvis in recognition of the sacrifice of Canadian men and women who lost their lives in the service of peace, at home and abroad. 

Calgary schools have been participating in No Stone Left Alone since 2013.

As the students lay their poppies, Lt. Richard McKenty reflected on what it means to have youth attending at a veterans field of honour.

“It's super important that the students of today our students know of the sacrifices the Fallen have given for Canada,” said Mckenty.

“I think it has that personal experience where the children and students will take a look at those people who sacrificed their lives for our country.”

Annabelle Abbey spent the morning walking from headstone to headstone, pausing to read the names, and reflect on the magnitude of sacrifice so many young Canadians made for her country.

“It definitely breaks my heart to see 21-year-olds or 30-year-olds passing away at such young ages, having so much life left to live and thinking that they could live so much longer. But they risked their lives for us and I'm thankful for that,” said Abbey, who has family members that fought for Canada.

“Being able to acknowledge what these people did for us, and that they risked their lives for our freedom today is a super powerful thing. I definitely know that a lot of people here are feeling overwhelmed with compassion and good feelings for the people that are here, but the ones who have had relatives (in the military), just understand it to a different level."

After a hiatus in 2020 due to COVID-19, No Stone Left Alone has returned to 83 locations in Canada this year, as well as two locations in Europe, one in the Netherlands and the other in Poland.