On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, we are asked to pause in memory of the thousands of men and women who sacrificed their lives in military service. At public gatherings around the world we will pay tribute with two minutes of silence for the fallen soldiers from the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War, the Afghanistan conflict and peacekeeping missions. Also known as Veterans Day in the U.S., Remembrance Day was first held throughout the Commonwealth in 1919. It marks the armistice to end the First World War, which came into effect at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, a year earlier.