Calgary The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, Her Honour, the Honourable Lois Mitchell, joined Field of Crosses founder and MRU honorary degree recipient Murray McCann and MRU officials and guests at a ceremony Tuesday unveiling the Mount Royal University Field of Crosses. The memorial honours the 29 students and former students who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country.
The creation of the MRU's satellite Field of Crosses was made possible through the McCann Family Foundation and the Field of Crosses Memorial Project. The memorial is a satellite installation of the commemoration that erects over 3,600 crosses along Memorial Drive each year.
"The Field of Crosses memorial is honoured that Mount Royal University would choose to memorialize their own heroes and welcome them back to campus in the form of memorial crosses," said McCann. "Hopefully they will be an inspiration to all who pass by to stop for a moment and remember the huge price paid, recognizing that no greater love hath man than he lay down his life for his friends."
Since the school's founding in 1910, hundreds of Mount Royal students, faculty staff and alumni have served in uniform. The 29 cherished students are also honoured through the school's Military Memorial Bursary program.
"My uncle was a member of the Canadian Military - he served on behalf on the Canadian Forces on peace missions for the United Nations," said Sean Milan, 2017 recipient of the Private Hans Raskensen Military Memorial Bursary. "To receive this is a comforting sign that even in his death - and the death of the fallen soldier this award was named for - their memory lives on."
Paul Rossman, vice-president, University Advancement, thanked McCann, as well as contributors to the bursary program, community partners, faculty and staff.
"We are grateful that you have entrusted us to install this campus memorial in partnership with the Memorial Drive Field of Crosses. Your generosity has made possible the creation of meaningful memorials for those brave members of the Mount Royal community who were unable to fulfill their potential," he said. "We honour their sacrifice and thank you for your commitment to their memory."
