People in Ottawa gathered at ceremonies throughout the city on Remembrance Day to honour the men and women who served and died in the Canadian military.
This year marks 25 years since the start of the Afghanistan war, in which more than 40,000 Canadian soldiers served and 158 lost their lives.
The governor general wrote in a statement that this year’s service holds extra weight, happening just weeks after the deadly fire at CFB Wainwright in Alberta.
“Our thoughts remain with the soldiers we lost, those who were wounded, as well as the families, friends, comrades and all others affected by this tragic event,” Arbour wrote in a statement.
At the National Military Cemetery of the Canadian Armed Forces, located within Beechwood Cemetery , the crowd stood solemnly among the headstones of the more than 5,000 service members, war veterans and military personnel buried at the cemetery.
Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee, was one of many to lay a wreath before the crowd placed their poppies upon the monument at the cemetery.
Postmedia photographer Spencer Colby was on hand in Beechwood for Wednesday’s solemn ceremony; here is what he saw.
