Australian leaders, veterans and many more attended services across the country today to pause and remember those who died or suffered in wars and conflict.
This year’s Remembrance Day marks 98 years since the guns fell silent on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 to mark the end of the Great War.
In Melbourne, among the crowd at the Shrine of Remembrance was Ron Hall, a Vietnam veteran, who spoke of the importance of remembering wars and how we should learn from the past, that we might avoid conflict in the future.
“Wars are the pits, and the world never learns,” he told The Newsroom.
He said it was hard for non-combatants to understand the full impact of war and how it affects a person. Only those who have fought in such conflicts could fully understand what it was like to be in a war zone.
Every Australian is affected by the passing of someone who has served our country, regardless of whether we personally know them or not, he added.
Hundreds of school children attended the Melbourne service to lay wreaths in honour of servicemen and women who died.
Moments before the ceremony three aircraft flew over the centre of the CBD, passing over the Shrine.
The blast of a cannon heralded the start of a minute’s silence.
At several major intersections throughout the CBD traffic was halted and pedestrians bowed their heads as buglers played the Last Post.
Story by Megan Simmonds; video one (above) filmed by Melissa Dierickx-Bosmans and produced by Megan Simmonds in Melbourne; video two (below) presented by CJ Cowen and produced by Phil Logan in Sydney.
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