Honoring fallen on Remembrance Day

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  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  Each year, on the second Sunday of November, U.K. citizens pay homage to those who died in World War I and World War II.

Remembrance Day ceremonies are scheduled in almost every town in the U.K. and visiting forces are invited to join their neighbors to remember those who have given their lives while serving their country.

The day was originally named Armistice Day after World War I, which ended at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. The day was changed to Remembrance Day after World War II to honor all of the men and women who serve.

The red poppy was chosen as the symbol of remembrance because many British soldiers lost their lives in the poppy fields of Flanders, Belgium, during World War I. Many people display or wear poppies as a sign of their remembrance.

Note to service members: Service members attending local Remembrance Day ceremonies as part of a marching contingency will be in service dress uniform. Service dress is optional for U.S. service members who attend a ceremony but are not part of a marching contingency. Poppies are not authorized on the uniforms of Airmen in formation.

The following is a list of ceremonies in the local area that are open to the public:

Nov. 9, 2013 -
10:30 a.m. - Wreath laying at the war memorial in West Row
11 a.m. - Wreath laying at the war memorial in Kenny Hill
2:30 p.m. - Wreath laying in Bury St. Edmunds at the 94th Bomb Group and Dunkirk Memorials

Nov. 10, 2013 -

9:45 a.m. - Wreath laying, church service and parade in Mildenhall village
10 a.m. - Wreath-laying ceremony, church service and parade in Dickleburg and Thorpe Abbots
10 a.m. - Parade from St. Mary's Green, church service at Ely Cathedral and wreath laying at the war memorial in Ely
10 a.m. - Church service, parade from St. Christopher's School to Millennium Centre followed by wreath laying in Red Lodge
10:15 a.m. - Civic procession, wreath-laying ceremony at Angel Hill, followed by a church service and reception in Bury St. Edmunds
10:20 a.m. - Parade to Market Place, followed by a service and wreath-laying ceremony at the war memorial in Thetford
10:30 a.m. - Service and wreath-laying ceremony at the chapel in Wymondham College
10:30 a.m. - Wreath-laying ceremony at the war memorial in Beck Row
10:45 a.m. - Wreath-laying ceremony at the War Graves Memorial at rear of St. John's Church in Beck Row
11 a.m. - Church service in St. John's Church in Beck Row
11:50 a.m. - Wreath-laying ceremony at the Royal Air Force cemetery in Newmarket
12:15 p.m. - Wreath-laying ceremony at 99 Squadron Memorial at the Rowley Mile Racecourse in Newmarket
1:50 p.m. - Wreath-laying ceremony at the war memorial and a church service at Tattersalls in Newmarket
2 p.m. - Parade, church service and wreath-laying ceremony at British and American memorials in Sudbury
2:10 p.m. - Parade and dedication at a war memorial and wreath-laying ceremony in Soham
3 p.m. - Wreath-laying ceremony in the Barrack Square in Martlesham Heath
3 p.m. - Remembrance service and wreath-laying ceremony in Bridgham