From Armistice Day To Veterans Day: A Century Of Remembering Service And Sacrifice

At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, the guns of World War I finally fell silent. The agreement that ended hostilities on the Western Front – known as the Armistice – brought relief to a war-weary world and marked the beginning of the end for one of history’s deadliest conflicts. Today, more than a century later, nations around the world continue to pause each November 11 to remember that moment of peace. Known as Armistice Day, the date commemorates the ceasefire between the Allied Powers and Germany and honors the millions who served and sacrificed during the Great War. Across Europe and the Commonwealth, two minutes of silence are traditionally observed at 11 a.m., while red poppies – inspired by the famous wartime poem “In Flanders Fields” – are worn