By Kyle Benning, Now contributor
CLOVERDALE — An award-winning veterans' memorial will be unveiled at Surrey Centre Cemetery on Remembrance Day.
Surrey's cemetery services installed Dan Bellan's contemporary commemorative sculpture over the past few weeks,
The Vancouver artist's piece, which has a sculpture of an angel giving wings to a person who has gone through a rough journey, replaced a 17-pound replica gun after the city wanted a unique design for remembering fallen soldiers.
The design recently won first prize in the public memorial category at the American Institute of Commemorative Arts conference in New Orleans.
"It's not what anybody would associate with a typical veterans' memorial," Bellan said about his piece. "It's more of an abstract structure."
Bellan, whose father was a veteran of the Second World War, said the sculpture represents freedom in the sense the person has fought for it and earned their freedom through the gift of the wings.
"Anyone who serves in the forces, the underlying theme that most people get is for our right to live in a democratic society."
Surrey Centre Cemetery is a 17-acre facility located in West Cloverdale in the 16600-block of Old McLellan Road.
The bronze and granite memorial is located in the cemetery's veterans' area.
kyle.benning@gmail.com