Armistice Day Remembrances

Last Wednesday was Armistice Day, when on the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month", in 1918, the armistice was signed for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front at the end of World War I. The date is now observed by many of the allied nations from that era as Veterans Day, Armistice Day, Remembrance Day or Poppy Day - a day set aside to commemorate the sacrifices made by those in the armed forces and their families. Collected here are photos of Veterans and Remembrance Day from the United States and several Commonwealth nations. (37 photos total)

Remembrance crosses for servicemen killed in the current conflict in Afghanistan sit outside Westminster Abbey after the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph on November 8, 2009 in London, England. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the start of the Second World War and on Remembrance Sunday the country honours its veterans with the commemorations paying particular focus to the troops who have lost their lives in current conflicts. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Kimberly Richardson, of Genesee, Michigan rests on the headstone of her husband U.S. Army Sgt. Gregory T. Richardson while visiting his gravesite following a Veterans Day observance on Wednesday Nov. 11, 2009 at the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, Michigan. (AP Photo/The Flint Journal, Ryan Garza) #

A U.S. Armed serviceman waves an American flag along 5th Avenue during the Veterans Day parade in New York November 11, 2009. (REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton) #

A Canadian flag is seen near Juno Beach during ceremonies to honor Metis veterans of WWII, at Juno Beach Center, near Caen, Normandy, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/David Vincent) #

Participants in the Remembrance Day service in Sydney, Australia shake hands in front of the Cenotaph on November 11, 2009. (GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images) #

Members of Cub Scouts Wolf Den of Pack 128 wave American flags after helping lead the Pledge of Allegiance at Veterans Day ceremonies in Scituate, Massachusetts on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009. More than 150 veterans, relatives, and school children gathered at the River Club in Scituate to observe the holiday. (L.E. Crowley) #

A member of the Canadian military pauses near a grave at the National Military Cemetery during Remembrance Day in Ottawa, Canada on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Pawel Dwulit) #

Tammy Duckworth, Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs watches as U.S. President Barack Obama departs on his first official trip to Asia on Marine One at the White House on November 12, 2009 in Washington, DC. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images) #

An unidentified member of a JROTC honor guard participates in a Veteran's Day ceremony in Omaha, Neb., Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik) #

World War II veterans Margie Zwick, Women's Army Corps, and Arnold Strauch, U.S. Army, look on before the annual Veterans Day parade November 11, 2009 in New York City. The nation's largest Veterans Day parade featuring 20,000 participants in New York is celebrating its 90th anniversary. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) #

A soldier bows his head as others look on during an event to mark Remembrance Day, also known as Poppy day, to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war, in Colombo, Sri Lanka on November 8, 2009. (REUTERS/Stringer) #

A man dressed as a Revolutionary War soldier stands during the Veterans Day parade in New York, November 11, 2009. (REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton) #

A Canadian soldier is framed by an eternal flame while standing guard at a War Memorial prior to Remembrance Day ceremonies North Vancouver, British Columbia November 11, 2009. (REUTERS/Andy Clark) #

US President Barack Obama walks through section 60, the burial sites of the war dead from Iraq and Afghanistan, after participating in Veterans Day events at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers on November 11, 2009 at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. (TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images) #

Frank Squirrel, U.S. Army Korean War veteran and member of the Cherokee Nation Color Guard, looks on before the start of the annual Veterans Day parade November 11, 2009 in New York City. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) #

A woman places a poppy on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier following Remembrance Day ceremonies at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on November 11, 2009. (REUTERS/Chris Roussakis) #

Veteran Mario Morrone of Philadelphia pays his respects to friends who died while serving in Vietnam, at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) #

The flag-draped coffin of Army Sgt. Dale Griffin rests in the back of a hearse before the start of a Terre Haute Veterans Day Service in Terre Haute, Indiana on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. Griffin was killed Oct. 27 by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings) #

Visitors view the remembrance crosses planted outside Westminster Abbey at the official opening of the Royal British Legion's Field of Remembrance on November 5, 2009 in London, England. Hundreds of small crosses bearing a poppy have been planted in the Field of Remembrance to pay tribute to British servicemen and women who have lost their lives in conflict. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images) #

A girl wears a red poppy in her hair to honor fallen soldiers and civilians in wartime for Remembrance Day in Hong Kong on November 7, 2009. Over 2,000 Commonwealth servicemen died in the 1941 Battle of Hong Kong when Japanese forces launched an invasion of the then-British Crown colony during World War II. (DANIEL SORABJI/AFP/Getty Images) #

Members of the public attend the Remembrance Sunday service in Whitehall, London, England on November 8, 2009. (SHAUN CURRY/AFP/Getty Images) #

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (center) arrives at the Cenotaph with members of the British royal family (from left) Prince Andrew, Prince William, Princess Anne, Prince Harry and the Duke of Edinburgh (right) during the Remembrance Sunday service in Whitehall, London, England on November 8, 2009. (SHAUN CURRY/AFP/Getty Images) #

An ex-serviceman walks through St James's Park to attend the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph on November 8, 2009 in London, England. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) #

The Korean War Memorial is seen in the rain on Veterans Day in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) #

An American soldier salutes taking part in a Veterans Day ceremony at Camp Eggers November 11, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Paula Bronstein /Getty Images) #

A British soldier prays during a moment of silence taking part in a Veterans Day ceremony at Camp Eggers on November 11, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Paula Bronstein /Getty Images) #

Filipino veterans attend a ceremony for fallen American and Filipino veterans who fought during World War II at Manila's American Cemetery and Memorial on November 11, 2009. The tribute came a day before US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is to arrive in Manila for a brief visit aimed at boosting security and diplomatic ties between the anti-terror allies. (Jay Directo/AFP/Getty Images) #

A boy takes a poppy from a fountain in Trafalgar Square during the Armistice Day of remembrance in central London on November 11, 2009. (REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth) #

A man takes a moment in front of a grave at the National Military Cemetery in Beechwood Cemetery on Remembrance Day in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Pawel Dwulit) #

Corporal Kerry Brook is consoled by Corporal Claire Vogel at The Armed Forces Memorial as they view the name of their fallen friend and colleague Private Kevin 'Tommo' Thompson' who died from the injuries he sustained in Iraq in 2007 on November 11, 2009 in Lichfield, United Kingdom. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) #

Underwriters and brokers watch a Remembrance Day Ceremony at Lloyd's of London on November 11, 2009 in London, England. Lloyd's had it's own company, D Company, in the London Rifle Battalion in World War I. 214 members of the Lloyd's market were killed in the First World War. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images) #

Members of the elite Navajo Code Talkers, the famed U.S. Marine unit who delivered unbreakable codes during World War II battles against the Japanese, salute before the start of the annual Veterans Day parade November 11, 2009 in New York City. Thirteen of the 50 or so remaining Code Talkers participated in today's parade for the first time. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) #

Eighteen-year-old Rifleman Craig Wood, center, from Doncaster, United Kingdom, watches paper poppies fall during a remembrance ceremony under the Menin Gate in Ieper, Belgium, Wednesday Nov. 11, 2009. Rifleman Wood was wounded in Afghanistan by a bomb and is one of only three triple amputees who have survived the war. Standing left is Rifleman Alex Bauer. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) #

During the annual Veterans Day Parade in Boston, Steve James from Boston holds an American flag along Tremont Street as he salutes a group of veterans marching. "I'm here to celebrate the Armed Forces. It's still the greatest nation on earth" he said. (John Tlumacki/Boston Globe staff) #

Linda Merideth kisses a memorial plaque bearing the name of her husband, U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Allen Merideth, on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009 at the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery West in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. (AP Photo/Kentucky New Era, Danny Vowell) #

A woman views crosses and poppies in the Field of Remembrance in the grounds of Westminster Abbey in London November 7, 2009. A remembrance service was held on Sunday in memory of those who died fighting for Britain and its allies. (REUTERS/Luke MacGregor) #

A short message is written on a Remembrance Cross, one of many planted outside Westminster Abbey at the official opening of the Royal British Legion's Field of Remembrance on November 5, 2009 in London, England. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images) #