'Let us be inspired by their example': Calgarians mark Remembrance Day
Thousands attend ceremony at Jubilee Auditorium, other events around city
Calgarians came "together in community" to pay their respects to Canada's war dead and to honour its veterans at Remembrance Day ceremonies around the city Friday, says Mayor Naheed Nenshi.
"We honour those who died, we honour those who came back to us," said Nenshi, in his opening remarks at the Jubilee Auditorium ceremony.
It was just one of many events being held at locations in Calgary on Friday, with an unseasonably high temperature of 17 C in the forecast.
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Nenshi said in order to honour the servicemen and women who sacrificed their lives for Canada, it's vital to remember what they fought for.
"Let us fight to embrace all the things that bring us together," Nenshi said. "Let us be inspired by their example."
Commodore H.C. Edmundson, who came from National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa for the ceremony, said he felt moved when he visited the Field of Crosses along Memorial Drive for a sunrise service.
"Those 3,200 to 3,300 crosses represent people who sacrificed their lives, so that the very cityscape that those crosses look at could be built and be inhabited by us, with all the freedoms that we have today," he told the audience of roughly 2,500 people at the Jubilee Auditorium.
The Salvation Army's Maj. Reg Newbury said the violence and strife so prevalent in many parts of the world is a reminder to challenge hatred and prejudice and be alert and diligent about our hard-fought freedoms.
"But we do give thanks for the troops, soldiers, sailors, airmen who are still serving, still protecting us," he said.
"And it's our prayer that God will protect them as they protect us."
Thousands more Calgarians attended the other major ceremonies at the Military Museums, the Cenotapth at Central Memorial Park and the Field of Crosses on Memorial Drive.
Here are two more Remembrance Day events taking place later in the day:
Daily | 1101 Memorial Dr. N.W.
The park commemorates veterans, daily from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
2 p.m. | Cemetery Road and Spiller Road. S.E.
The cemetery — where many military and RCMP are laid to rest — offers a free walking tour at 2 p.m. Non-Canadian units are part of the history showcased in the Burnsland Field of Honour.
