Remembering the lives of MRU veterans
By Keoputhy Bunny, News Editor
Mount Royal University (MRU) students may notice a series of crosses assembled across from Dr. John H. Garden Memorial Park as they’re walking to and from school. Similar to ones raised along Memorial Drive in Calgary each year, the Field of Crosses memorialize MRU’s own veterans who have given their lives to Canada.
Alongside the Field of Crosses are the Military Memorial Bursaries. These bursaries are designed to help 30 current MRU students in the name of the veterans who lost their lives.
The Field of Crosses was founded in 2019 by Murray McCann. McCann also established the Field of Crosses on Memorial Drive that has over 3600 crosses, representing the Southern Albertans who have lost their lives in the military.
This Remembrance Day, the Field of Crosses hosted its Eleven Days of Remembrance — a series of events to pay tribute to the fallen.
The events included sunrise and sunset ceremonies, a Night of Lights (where candles were placed in front of each cross from the sunset into the next day) and a Remembrance Day Ceremony on Nov. 11.
According to the Government of Alberta website, McCann was profoundly touched when he saw 23 white crosses in honour of the fallen soldiers who gave their lives for a village in Georgia which gave him the idea for the crosses.
McCann received an honorary Bachelor of Nursing degree in 2018 from MRU and was recently named one of the winners by the Top 7 Over 70 organization with three other MRU community members. He was also named Calgary’s Citizen of the Year in 2017 for his philanthropic efforts.
The McCann Family Foundation also helped develop lodgings through the Homes for Heroes Foundation. This group is focused not only on housing but also the healing and reintegration of veterans back into society.
