A trio of helicopters whirred through the clouds above the Grand Parade in Halifax as hundreds of members of the public, military personnel and veterans stood for a two-minute silence in honour of those who lost their lives defending Canada.
The Remembrance Day ceremony was punctuated by the sound of cannon from the Halifax Citadel for a 21-gun salute.
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Memorial Cross recipient Anne Snyder laid one of the first wreaths on the Cenotaph in honour of her son, Capt. Jonathan Sutherland Snyder.
The 26-year-old Snyder died two days after receiving the Star of Military Valour for his service in Afghanistan in 2008.
Remembrance Day at Grand Parade has become a tradition for 93-year-old veteran Alvin Auton and his wife Valerie.
“I was navy and I served on two ships HMCS Chicoutimi and HMCS Woodstock. We were convoying the North Atlantic” Auton recalled.
“We were in on the Normandy invasion and also North Africa.”
He said that was from 1940 to 1945, but the wounds are still fresh on days like today.
“I wouldn’t have time to tell you all of it – the memories I have. It wasn’t pleasant,” Auton said when asked about what this day means to him.
“We have a lot of young men that were strong, gave their lives for their country. And a lot of the young men that came back have served the country ever since.”
Mayor Mike Savage and Halifax Liberal MP Andy Fillmore also laid wreaths to pay their respects.
People lined up to pin poppies on white crosses as the ceremony drew to a close, with the sound of a Navy band growing fainter as a procession of veterans, cadets, service men and women marched away.
— With files from The Canadian Press.