'We can’t forget them': Calgarians honour veterans who fought for freedom and paid ultimate sacrifice

CALGARY -

Calgarians gathered Thursday at Remembrance Day events across the city to pay respect and honour veterans who gave their lives as a sacrifice for our freedom. 

The Field of Crosses on Memorial Drive saw hundreds walk row on row to find the names of their loved ones and reflect on their impactful lives.

Andrew Rankin was spotted sitting on a bench amongst the display of crosses as tears streamed down his face. 

“It’s just such a difficult sight of so many people who gave their lives for us and made unmeasurable sacrifices so really I’m honoured to walk through here and read their stories,” he said.

Rankin remembers his father, Alexander Stanley Rankin, from Nova Scotia, who joined the Merchant Marines in 1939 at just 14 years old.

His father was kicked out because he was too young to enlist as a soldier at the time, but he would eventually rejoin with the Black Watch and stormed the beaches of Normandy and Juno Beach on D-Day. 

“My father just threw his books down the drain at the time to join the military, so it’s important to teach people about Remembrance Day and the men and women because we can’t forget them," said Rankin.   

MULTIPLE CEREMONIES REMEMBER FALLEN SOLDIERS

 A memorial ceremony at The Hangar Flight Museum invited a small crowd of dignitaries, current servicewomen and servicemen, along with veterans for a special Remembrance Day ceremony broadcasted online by CTV Calgary.

The museum’s executive director Brian Desjardins says this year was special for several of the cadet members who could finally participate in-person after last year’s ceremony was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 “We need to ensure that our youngest generation and all generations recognize and appreciate and remember those that had fallen in the wars in the past and continue to serve today,” said Desjardins.

Another ceremony took place at The Military Museums.

Museum director David Peabody says Canada’s military history has really helped to shape the country in various ways and continues to do so today.

“For example, we have 5,000 Afghan immigrants that are going to be joining us here in our city and for Canadians to understand why that is, we really need to look at Canada's participation in the Afghanistan conflict,” said Peabody.

“Going back throughout the years and even further understanding how Canada came to be is so to acknowledge those experiences with global conflict.”

Another ceremony at Battalion Park was also held, with a couple hundred people overlooking Signal Hill, where veterans and community members laid wreaths. 

BOWNESS FAMILY ACKNOWLEDGES COMMUNITY VETERANS

A family in the northwest Calgary community of Bowness decided to set up crosses in their front yard this year in honour of Remembrance Day.

Several crosses were set up with the names of Bowness community members who fought in the Second World War.

A field of crosses created by the Sanvido family in the Calgary community of Bowness.

The idea came from six-year-old Brixton Sanvido, who wanted to do something meaningful after several ceremonies were virtual instead of in-person last year.

“It’s important to celebrate Remembrance Day and remember some of the soldiers that died in the war,” he said.

Sanvido’s mother, Erin Hill said it only took a couple days to put together wooden crosses, while her children painted them and reached out to community members who wished to have loved ones honoured.

“We wanted to keep this special to Bowness because it’s really a unique community and just an amazing group of people who have lived here for generations,” Hill said.

“So we put the word out and we've got several people that came back with their grandfather's names or great grandfather's names, thanking us from the bottom of their hearts.”

Tess Morgenstern-McCormick requested that that her grandfather, Ronald George be honoured.

Ronald George left for the Second World War in 1941 from London, England, as a member of the British military where he fought in the jungles of India and Burma. (Courtesy Tess Morgenstern-McCormick)

George left for the war in 1941 from London, England as a member of the British Military where he fought in the jungles of India and Burma.

After the war, he emigrated from the United Kingdom to the United States, and then to Canada the following year where George and his family built a house in Bowness and settled there for the rest of their lives.

“It’s so meaningful to remember my grandfather, what he did, how he served, and how important his life and other lives were,” said Morgenstern-McCormick. 

“On this day (Nov. 11), in 1945, he came home from the war and my grandmother wasn’t expecting him. There he stood, completely unexpected at 10:45 p.m. wearing his Royal Engineers full uniform. He took off his bush hat and they both stared in amazement at each other.”

George and his wife lived on 33rd Avenue N.W. in Bowness in the 1950s until he passed away in 1998.

Ronald George left for the Second World War in 1941 from London, England, as a member of the British military where he fought in the jungles of India and Burma. (Courtesy Tess Morgenstern-McCormick)