Members of the T&T Regiment, Coast Guard, Fire, Police and other arms of security personnel turned out in their numbers yesterday for the National Day of Remembrance at Memorial Park in Port-of-Spain.
Scores of people turned out to witness the event.
The event is held annually to honour all who served as well as, in memory of those who fell in World War I and World War II. A similar ceremony was held in Tobago.
Remembrance Day is observed on November 11 and observed by countries in the British Commonwealth.
Traffic near Memorial Park was diverted for the duration of the ceremony which was not attended by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley. The Prime Minister’s wife Sharon Rowley was present and laid a wreath on the cenotaph.
President Anthony Carmona was the first to lay a wreath at 11.10 am.
Before the wreath-laying ceremony took place, the military parade marched into Memorial Park at 11 am where there was a two-minute silence in observance of those lost as a result of World Wars I and II. The red poppy was worn by all who attended the event.
ABOUT REMEMBRANCE DAY
Remembrance Sunday is observed on the second Sunday in November, which is nearest to November 11 and is also known as Remembrance Day or Poppy Day.
Poppies are worn on the occasion to honour and pay tribute to the fallen during World Wars I and II, respectively, from 1914 to 1918 and 1939 to 1945 and other conflicts. During the First World War, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years of continuous warfare.
In many parts of the world, people observe two minutes of silence at 11 am on November 11. The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month marks the signing of the Armistice, on November 11, 1918, to signal the end of World War 1.