Symbolic stairs in Saint John recognize military service

Symbolic stairs honour veterans A symbolic set of stairs is being installed in Saint John to honour the sacrifices of veterans and their families

SAINT JOHN, N.B. — A new monument inside Saint John's Jervis Bay-Ross Memorial Park commemorates military service, one step at a time.

The Stairway of Service features steps listing the names of local citizens who've served, or are serving, in the Canadian military. It also honours names of those who served on the HMS Jervis Bay, for which the park is named after.

"Actually it's a functional monument," says Harold Wright, president of Royal Canadian Legion Jervis Bay Memorial Branch No. 53. "We had to put a new set of stairs in our park, so I came up with the idea, 'Let's make our stairs a monument.'"

The pathway and stairs include the outline of boot prints representing military members leaving and returning from service.

"We have the handprints of kids, and they're representing the families waiting for people to return from military service," says Wright. "It's not a war monument, it's a monument that relates to military service."

Construction of the new stairway is part of upgrades and maintenance for several of monuments within the park, totalling about $55,000.

Many were enthusiastic to be involved in the project, including Second World War veteran George Kelley who will turn 103 at the end of the month. An outline of his boot print is etched into the monument.

"Dad and our family have been coming here for years for the Remembrance Day service," says John Kelley, George's son. "So just to see them adding some other features to it and expanding the park, I'm sure it means a lot to dad but it means a lot to our family for the remembrance of it all."

Ralf De Nijs, a 10-year veteran of the Dutch military who served twice in Afghanistan, is part of the monument's construction crew.

"So it's actually pretty cool to be working on this, for those who liberated the Netherlands," says De Nijs.

Students at nearby Bayside Middle School will also contribute, writing online biographies for every name on the monument. An official dedication ceremony at the site is expected this fall.