Field of Crosses Sunrise Ceremony - Royal Canadian Airforce Day

Sunrise is at 8:29am.

Today's Sunrise Flag Raising Ceremony is dedicated to recognizing the 1,023 fallen Airforce members within the Field of Crosses including and honouring the British Commonwealth Air Training Program. At the peak of the British Commonwealth Air Training Program’s presence in Alberta, a command headquarters was established in Calgary that was responsible for the network of training schools in the province. As the focus of a Commonwealth-wide effort to instruct aircrew, Canada made a major contribution to Allied air superiority during World War II. At the program’s peak, 94 schools operating at 231 sites across Canada, the ground organization numbered over 104 thousand men and women and three thousand trainees graduated each month. At a cost of more than $ 1.6 billion, 132 thousand pilots, navigators, bomb aimers, wireless operators, air gunners, and flight engineers graduated.

Participants and invited guests:

School Choirs to participate in the sunrise ceremonies to sing the National and Royal Anthems. Buglers, mostly cadets and young adults, to play the Last Post. Pipers, mostly cadets, and also volunteer pipers from the piping community, to play the Lament after a minute of silence. Veterans, cadets, girl guides, boy scouts are a part of the sunrise ceremony in the raising of the flags. Uniformed members of the community, such as Calgary Fire Department, Calgary Police Services, EMS Alberta Sheriffs and Military Members, will participate. Other guests include Civic, Provincial, Federal Government officials, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, Governor General of Canada, Consul Generals. Veterans, community leaders and members of the public.  

After the ceremony, members of the public are welcome to walk amongst the crosses all day long.

Susan Schalin (s.schalin@fieldofcrosses.com)

403-297-0555

www.fieldofcrosses.com