Calgarians remember sacrifices a century after WWI ended

Global Calgary joined thousands of Calgarians to honour the sacrifices of our veterans this Remembrance Day, with a special live broadcast of ceremonies from the Field of Crosses on Sunday.

The Field of Crosses memorial project is an annual tribute to southern Alberta soldiers who enlisted and lost their lives while defending our freedom in Canada’s wars and peacekeeping missions.

Located in city park space along Memorial Drive, the startlingly visual memorial was made up of over 3,400 white crosses, displayed from Nov. 1 to 12. Each cross is engraved with the soldier’s name, age at death, rank, regiment and date of death.

Global News coverage began at 10:30 a.m. MT with news anchor Linda Olsen hosting our live broadcast of #CalgaryRemembers.

Olsen introduced viewers to veterans, youth and volunteers from the Field of Crosses, who reflected on why Remembrance Day is so important for them and why other Canadians should take time to remember the sacrifices of our veterans.

Global’s Jordan Witzel was Master of Ceremonies for the Remembrance Day ceremony itself.

Two minutes of silence are annually observed at 11 a.m. of the 11th day of the 11th month, marking the moment the fighting of the First World War ended in 1918.

WATCH: Global Calgary’s coverage of Remembrance Day 2018.

The Field of Crosses project, which began in 2009, is an initiative of the McCann Family Foundation, started by Murray McCann, and the late George Bittman of the Calgary Poppy Fund.

At sunrise each morning from Nov. 1 to 11, a flag-raising ceremony was held at the Field of Crosses, which included a local school singing the national anthem, a bugler and a piper. The ceremonies were also attended by family and friends of fallen soldiers, veterans and members of the public as well as national, provincial and local dignitaries.

Separate ceremonies were held at sunset each evening when the flags were lowered.

It is estimated more than 4,000 men and women from southern Alberta have been killed serving our country. Each year, additional crosses are added to the Field of Crosses.