Unveiling of the “National Memorial to the Fallen”
December 11, 2025 - Defence Stories
Estimated read time – 1:50
Caption
The National Memorial to the Fallen was unveiled in Kingston, Ontario on November 1.
Photo by: Aerosnapper, Mike Hill
On November 1, after 15 years of planning, fundraising and finally, construction, the “National Memorial to the Fallen” was unveiled at Macdonald Park in Kingston, Ontario.
The memorial honours, in a single location, the over 120,000 Canadian service members who have died in wars and conflicts since the War of 1812, as recorded in the eight Books of Remembrance on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. It also honours those who, prior to 1812, helped shape Canada through their involvement in earlier conflicts. The memorial was conceived and built by the National Wall of Remembrance Association (NWORA) in partnership with the City of Kingston.
For the memorial, the City of Kingston and Parks Canada provided a very prominent piece of land beside Murney Tower, a 19th Century fortification along Kingston’s waterfront. Former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) from 2008-2012, General ‘Walt’ Natynczyk, who recently kindly volunteered to be a Patron for NWORA, presented a poignant and heart-rendering speech at the unveiling as the guest of honour.
“This memorial, situated in the historic city of Kingston, is a place where memories become personal. Families may reflect. Veterans may honour their comrades. Children may learn. Canadians may pay their respects.
This is a space for the living, shaped by the lives of the Fallen. And here, against the backdrop of Lake Ontario and beside the watchful walls of the Murney Tower, we make a national promise: that memory will not fade with time. That sacrifice will not be forgotten. That service will be honoured—every day of the year.”
Centered around a Canadian Flag flying high on a 25-foot flagpole and surrounded by a large compass rose base representing the far corners of the world where Canadian service personnel have fought and died for Canada, there are four large granite pillars representing four periods of conflict: Pre-First World War; the First World War; the Second World War, and Post-Second World War. Each pillar includes key images from those timeframes reflecting the human face of war.
This physical memorial complements a virtual memorial which NWORA has developed to recognize the names of every one of the over 120,000 fallen. The aim is to gather information and stories on each one of the fallen; improving the Virtual Memorial is the next major effort for NWORA.
NWORA also supports four other programmes to help honour the fallen: the Community Memorials Programme which helps provide funding for communities to repair or build local monuments; the Education Outreach Programme to help educate our youth about the sacrifices of the Fallen; the Scholarship Programme; and finally, the Flag Programme.
For more information on the National Memorial to the Fallen, the Virtual Memorial, and the various NWORA programmes, please visit the NWORA website.