Remembrance Day 2011: Lest Canada Forgets On 11-11-11-11
At 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, Canadians pause in a silent, two-minute moment of remembrance for the men and women who have served our country in war, conflict and peace.
Known as Veterans Day in the U.S., Remembrance Day was first held throughout the Commonwealth in 1919, CBC reports. It marks the armistice to end the First World War, which came into effect at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918.
Remembrance was observed early Friday at Kandahar Airfield — the first such service there since the end of Canada's combat mission in Afghanistan. Defence Minister Peter MacKay read aloud the names of the Canadian casualties as poppies were placed on each black marble plaque on the cenotaph. Flags were lowered and wreaths were laid in honour of the 158 Canadian military personnel who died during the Afghan mission.
The Huffington Post Canada will mark the moment of remembrance at the appointed hour in each time zone of Canada with a special banner at the top of our pages: Newfoundland, Atlantic, Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific Time.
We've compiled some of the best online Canadian war and Remembrance Day resources below:
The Fallen: Afghanistan
Names Of Canada's War Dead (First And Second World War, Korea, Afghanistan)
The Fallen: First and Second World War (Name Search)
The Books Of Remembrance
VIRTUAL POPPY FIELD (Veterans Affairs Canada)
http://poppiesfield.ca/
Leave a message for veterans and watch the field of poppies grow.
D-DAY TO VICTORY, A 3D INTERACTIVE
http://www.ddaytovictory.ca/
Users follow the Allies from the invasion of Normandy to the siege of Berlin on an interactive map interface, and explore the key events that led to victory. The site depicts the intensity of war and its physical and emotional impact through innovative 3D scenes that visualize 'exploded views' of the attacks. Within each 3D scene, users can access video interviews with the surviving heroes, their bios and artifacts. Users can also share their thoughts, as tokens of remembrance, in the "Remember Our Heroes" section of the site, with each comment evoked as an 'interactive poppy'.
The interactive site is a companion piece to a six-part documentary TV series. Its conclusion airs tonight on History Television.
VIDEO PREVIEW:
THE VAN DOOS IN AFGHANISTAN
http://www.nfb.ca/22
To mark Remembrance Day, the National Film Board of Canada is making Claude Guilmain’s documentary The Van Doos in Afghanistan available online, free of charge, for a 24-hour period on November 11. The film was shot in March 2011 during ground operations in Afghanistan involving the Canadian Forces Royal 22e Régiment, Canada's only entirely francophone regiment. Footage from The Van Doos will form part of a feature documentary slated for release in 2014 to coincide with the Royal 22e Régiment’s 100th anniversary.
THE MEMORY PROJECT
http://www.thememoryproject.com/
This nationwide bilingual project offers a compelling account of Canada's participation in the Second World War through thousands of firsthand veteran testimonials. It's Canada's largest online oral history archive on the subject.
STORMING JUNO
http://www.stormingjuno.com
An award-winning online extension to a History Television docudrama that aired last year. Similar to D-Day to Victory, users can access a 360-degree rotating view of Juno Beach, Normandy, and access real stories told by veterans and witnesses.
VIDEO PREVIEW:
THE POPPYFILE
http://toronto.openfile.ca/remembrance_day
Using OpenFile's Poppy map, you can find out where Canadian soldiers who died in the Second World War once lived in Toronto. Pick a neighbourhood or a street to find out more about a particular soldier that died and where and when they were killed overseas.
ON THE BLOG
- Remembering the silent generation
- The savage war
- Romeo Saganash's ode to veterans
- Standing on guard for freedom
With a file from The Canadian Press
Loading comments… 
The Huffington Post Canada Brodie Fenlon First Posted: 11/11/11 05:49 AM ET Updated: 11/11/11 09:09 AM ET