“Hi Ara,

I was the piper (who had a disastrous attempt at playing in the cold). Do you mind sending me a photo from the morning? It was my first time being at that ceremony, and I wouldn’t mind a photo.

I don’t mind you using my photo for whatever you need. I’m glad it doesn’t have sound as that was somewhat of a disaster. I’m a piper with the Alberta Firefighters Pipe Band (www.abfirefighterspipeband.com) and have been piping for about 4 years now (2 years with the band). Many members of our band participate in the Memorial project, and this was my first attempt.

I’m still learning how to play in very cold conditions! My favourite thing about Kensington is strolling down the main street and having a coffee at Higher Ground.

Cheers,

Steve “

Members of the Kensington Legion Colour Party perform the daily flag raising ceremony at the Field of Crosses Memorial Project.

There’s something that keeps drawing me back to this memorial. Even though the crosses are symbolic–nobody is actually buried there–I find myself thinking about the far reaching effects of the World Wars. On April 24,1915 my ancestors were forcefully deported from their homes in what is now Eastern Turkey and became survivors of the Armenian Genocide. They fought for survival as they crossed the deserts into Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and beyond–all casualties of a war that had spread all over Europe like an unstoppable brush fire.

Meanwhile, on the Western Front, the Battle of St. Julien (2nd Battle of Ypres) was underway, famous for being the first full-scale use of chemical weapons in the Great War. Countless Canadian troops gave up everything they had, ultimately to a loss of over 125’000 soldiers who ended up dead, wounded or missing in action from both sides of the conflict. It was at this place, during that month-long battle where Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae had famously written his poem, “In Flanders Fields.”

When I was a child, we participated in Remembrance Day events. Being a first-generation Canadian, I never really understood the magnitude or impact that these wars had on my family. When people talk about how the soldiers at the time gave up their lives for our freedom, I never truly understood until I put in context of the Armenians massacred.

Now I know that if it weren’t for those Allied forces fighting so bravely, Armenians would have just been a memory in a history book.

Ara Shimoon

“The Calgary Soldier’s Memorial is part of a larger parks project along Memorial Drive called the ‘Landscape of Memory.’

The sculpture stands as a tribute to the sacrifice and service of soldiers serving with Calgary’s Army Reserve Regiments in the First and Second World Wars, as well as in the recent conflict in Afghanistan.

Six large upright marble slabs carry the names of over 3,000 soldiers who died while in service. They face the direction of Mewata Armoury a mustering point from which many Canadian soldiers departed to serve their country.

The Calgary Soldiers’ Memorial consists of several stone tablets bearing the names of soldiers from Calgary area regiments killed during times of war. These regiments include, in order of precedence, The King’s Own Calgary Regiment, 41 Combat Engineer Regiment, 746 (Calgary) Communications Squadron, The Calgary Highlanders, 14 (Calgary) Service Battalion and 15 Field Ambulance. Also represented on the tablets are those units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force perpetuated by the current Calgary units of the Canadian Forces, including the 10th Battalion, CEF and 50th Battalion, CEF.”

“The ‘Memorial Drive Crosses Project’ goes back ten years. My wife had passed away and I had been single for a while. Some time later I had met a lady from Georgia and was living in down there with her. One day, I was down there driving around and I saw these three crosses on a hill. I thought to myself that it might have been the site of an accident or something, but as I continued on I saw rows and rows of crosses. I had to pull over and walk among them. That’s when I saw they had names, ranks, date of death, and the age of the person on them. I was so overwhelmed that I began to cry. I suddenly had this intense feeling of the dead speaking to me from their graves saying, “We only wanted what you have. Remember us.” I came back to Calgary and started telling every one about this experience. I knew what I had to do.

We went to the City of Calgary and the Poppy Fund. We found this location and talked to the Parks organizations and they were all very supportive. This city has been fantastic with their support. The thing about working with veterans is that they don’t waste time. If you ask them for help for something, they get right to it. The support these guys have had for this memorial project is amazing. They pounded all the stakes and got the crosses up in no time. That’s the thing about military veterans. You never have to ask them twice.

A lot of the soldiers where buried were they fell, you know? This is the first time a lot of those soldiers have a marker for their graves. I had an uncle who served, but I was never in the service myself. I feel like it’s important to remember these guys and do something for them because they all gave so much.” J. Murray McCann (centre in photo) with some members the Field of Crosses Memorial Project.

“There is a park reserved along Calgary’s Memorial Drive for 3,200 white crosses which are displayed each year on November 1st and removed November 12th. The date coincides with the Calgary Poppy Fund’s annual fundraising campaign and the Canadian Legacy Project’s Veterans Food Drive. Each cross is inscribed with the name, rank, regiment, date of death and age at death of a Southern Alberta soldier killed in action. It is estimated that more than 3,200 Southern Alberta soldiers have been killed in action. Veterans Affairs Canada keeps records of those who died, but not the hometown of the casualty; we welcome volunteers and input from friends and relatives who have lost a loved one from Southern Alberta who was killed in action and is not included in our Field of Crosses. Our wish is that no Southern Alberta soldier who paid the ultimate price for our freedom is ever forgotten.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them…

At sunrise each morning from November 1 to November 11 there is a flag raising ceremony at the Field of Crosses including a bugler and a piper. At sunset the flags are lowered.

Members of the public are welcome at these ceremonies or to visit the site at any time, to walk among the crosses, to lay flowers at a loved one’s memorial or to be reminded that the price of the freedom we enjoy was not free. Public parking is available at the west end of the park.

The memorial project is an initiative of the McCann Family Foundation in association with the Calgary Poppy Fund and numerous volunteers.” Field of Crosses Memorial Project, www.fieldofcrosses.com

“The first day of November marks our one year anniversary. It’s been great having the support of our customers and other local businesses. In the restaurant business: slow and steady wins the race and we’re in it for the long game.

Calgary’s steakhouses are typically male oriented. They’re synonymous with that vintage, old style look of the dining room and the menu. Modern Steak is a different approach, a newer, contemporary approach. We’ve been trying to establish a program with our menu and dining room to greet a new demographic, that’s why you see the room styled the way it is.

What do I like about the neighbourhood? Wow… We all get along. I know that sounds like ‘Kumbaya’, but we all get along, we all refer each other to our different businesses, we all help each other out. There’s no half-assed attempts in this neighbourhood. For example, Pulcinella does their thing, really, really well. Brasserie does their thing really, really well. It all goes to establishing really strong support with the other restauranteurs out here.

Other neighbourhoods could have a very cut-throat attitude, but in this community business owners help each other out. A lot of one-off business owners in this area and that’s what makes our place, and I’d say the whole neighbourhood successful.” Stephen Deere, Owner & Manager, Modern Steak

“You see a lot of parents walking with their kids to go Trick-Or-Treating. Not because they’re afraid of their children getting kidnapped or anything like that, no. It’s because everyone knows each other and they use the opportunity to stroll by their neighbours houses and say hi.

More than a few of these houses give out stuff for the parents too, maybe a top-up on hot water for their tea, maybe a shot of Bailey’s in their coffee. Haha!”