A new monument in east Saint John commemorating military service was dedicated during a ceremony on Friday.
The “Stairway to Service” memorial is located at Jervis Bay-Ross Memorial Park on Graham Street, off Loch Lomond Road.
It features a set of 13 granite steps and a walkway which memorializes those who performed military service for our community and country.
“Just to see the happiness on everybody’s face to see mom or dad or grampy’s name there, to see that they are remembered, that’s what makes all of this worthwhile,” said Harold Wright, president of Royal Canadian Legion Jervis Bay Branch No. 53.
The functional monument features more than 200 names of people who served from the First World War to the present, with room for 200 more names.
On the top of the steps are boot and shoe prints of two Saint John veterans who served during the Second World War: the late George O. Kelley, who died in December at age 103, and Glennis (Boyle) Boyce.
One side of the steps has images of boots and shoes going down representing those going off to military service. The opposite side of the steps has boots and shoes coming up representing those returning home from military service.
In the centre of three steps are engraved hand prints of children representing families waiting for their return from service.
Local students lay poppy rocks and shells as part of the “Stairway to Service” monument dedication. (Image: Brad Perry)
Only one name currently on the monument belongs to an active member of the Canadian Armed Forces.
MCpl Steve Richard has been a Regular Force member for 26 years and served in Afghanistan. Before joining the Regular Forces, he spent eight years as a reservist with 1st Battalion, The Royal New Brunswick Regiment (1RNBR).
“It’s a mixed bag,” Richard said when asked how it feels to be recognized. “Usually memorials are for past conflicts and it’s kind of still adjusting to being in the Afghanistan conflict that we are veterans now, we are the members who are going to be memorialized.”
“It’s going to take a while to get used to, especially while still serving.”
Wright said those who serve today are just as important as those who served in the past.
“It’s normally those who still serve that aren’t thought of in this type of setting,” he said.
The monument, which has been in the works for just over three years, cost about $35,000, according to Wright. He hopes they will be able to continue adding names with more phases over the decades to come.
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