Airdrie residents are invited to honour local veterans at the inaugural crosses ceremony at the Field of Honour, Oct. 29.
The Canadian Army Veterans Motorcycle Unit, RCMP, Alberta Sheriffs, Airdrie emergency services, the Legion Colour Party, City council and citizens will join a procession from the Legion to Veterans Boulevard starting at 10:30 a.m.
“These people have given their lives so we can do whatever we want every minute of every day,” said Alderman Allan Hunter, organizer of the ceremony.
“Give a couple hours to honour them. Veterans are no longer our grandpas and great grandpas, they are 25-year-old soldiers. Let’s not take it for granted.”
On Sept. 6, City council voted to create a Field of Honour that includes temporary signs erected near Veterans Boulevard to honour each of the veterans from Airdrie and the surrounding area who lost their lives.
About 28 crosses will be put up on a grassy area near the tracks to honour veterans in and around Airdrie.
At 11 a.m., a bugler will play The Last Post and Reveille followed by a short dedication ceremony and two minutes of silence.
Veterans Boulevard will be closed during the ceremony.
“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could have 1,000 people slowing down traffic for all the right reasons,” said Hunter.
“There are people in the community actively serving our country and these are the people who give us the democracy we take for granted. Look at what is happening all over the world. We need to be thankful for what we have.”
The ceremony will become a yearly event and in the next year, a flagpole will be erected on sight as a more permanent monument.
“We want to make Veterans Boulevard something everyone remembers instead of just a signpost,” said Hunter.
