Veterans and thousands of their supporters gathered at the National War Memorial in downtown Ottawa Thursday for a ceremony to honour the contributions of Canadian military service men and women.

The ceremony is the first presided over by newly appointed Gov. Gen. David Johnston. It is also the first year in which there are no surviving Canadian veterans of the First World War.

In an interview, historian Tim Cook explained that the passing in February of Canada's last surviving veteran of the Great War, 109-year-old John Babcock, illustrates the changing tenure of the day.

"We are losing between 500 and 600 Second World War vets each week," Cook said.

"Even as we lose veterans from the Second World War and the Korean War, I have a feeling that this day will continue to have the power to make us think and reflect, and that's what this day is about."

For the large crowd of onlookers assembled under sunny skies in Ottawa Thursday, Cook's remarks appeared to ring true as they burst into spontaneous applause at the start of the day's official events.

Led by a a pipe and drum corps into the memorial plaza, veterans of Canadian combat and peacekeeping missions gathered to witness the traditional rituals that are being played out at cenotaphs large and small across the country. The tribute in the capital opened with a chorus of O Canada, followed by a lone bugler playing a haunting rendition of The Last Post.

Gov. Gen. Johnston, who recently returned from a visit to Afghanistan, was first to lay a wreath at the foot of the memorial. As the Memorial Silver Cross Mother, Mabel Girouard of Bathurst, New Brunswick had the honour of laying a wreath on behalf of all the parents who have lost children serving in Canada's military.

"I know the grief they went through," Girouard said in an interview Thursday. "It gets better as we go along, but never, never to forget."

Girouard's son, CWO Robert Michael Girouard, was killed when a suicide bomber drove his vehicle into a military convoy in Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2006.

"He would be happy, I'm sure," Girouard said, reflecting on what her son might make of the honour given his mother by the Royal Canadian Legion.

Remembrance Day recalls the end of the First World War, when an armistice went into effect at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. To mark the day, each year Canadians across the country pause in two minutes of silent remembrance at 11 a.m.

"Let's take this moment to remember the countless contributions of our Veterans-to think about the many young men and women who have sacrificed so selflessly to ensure that people around the world might see a better future," Minister of Veterans Affairs Jean-Pierre Blackburn said in a statement.

In a statement, Defence Minister Peter MacKay noted the passing of Babcock marks a new era of remembrance.

"Mr. Babcock's passing illustrates the reason why we need to pause on Remembrance Day to recognize the sacrifices and achievements of our veterans and honour those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in serving their country," he said.

"The 620,000 men and women who served in the Canadian Forces in the First World War - of which 67,000 gave their lives and 173,000 were wounded - have now all passed; their voices silent. Every year, the ranks of Second World War and Korean War veterans get smaller."

More than 30,000 people attended the ceremony in Ottawa, including members of the Vancouver Canucks, who were to play the Senators Thursday night.

Team management cancelled their morning skate so that players could attend the ceremony.

Honouring those still in service

Because of the time difference, troops and families paid tribute to their own earlier in the day, as Remembrance Day was marked in Kandahar with relatives of some of the Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan among the crowd.

The commander of the Canadian mission in Kandahar, Brig. Gen. Dean Milner told the gathering of more than 200 people that soldiers are dying for the "common cause of freedom and human decency."

"It is important that we take the time to mark this day, especially here in Afghanistan," Milner told the crowd assembled at the cenotaph at Kandahar Air Field.

"(It is) a place which is so close to the sacrifices made by the brave men and women who fought in this theatre."

Reporting from Kandahar, CTV's Ben O'Hara-Byrne described a sombre, intimate ceremony.

"People here are not just remembering soldiers who have fallen before them, they're remembering friends and colleagues who have died beside them," O'Hara-Byrne said in an interview early Thursday.

The families of eight soldiers killed in Afghanistan made the trip to Kandahar for the ceremony.

"When I spoke to them afterwards, they said it was a trip they just had to make," O'Hara-Byrne said. "To get a better idea of who they were and what they died fighting for."

Canada's combat mission in Afghanistan ends next year, but for now the fight continues. O'Hara-Byrne said that just minutes after the ceremony was over, soldiers were back at work.

"There's a war going on here, so there's not a lot of time to stop and think. But it did stop today, just for a few moments, as people remembered those who died."

At a Remembrance Day ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, Prime Minister Stephen Harper also paused to acknowledge the work of Canadian troops in hotspots around the world.

"Today I also want to pay tribute to our brave men and women in uniform who continue the proud tradition of defending peace and freedom around the globe in places such as Afghanistan and Haiti," the prime minister said in comments at the Korean War Memorial.

Harper, who is in Seoul for the G20 summit, was joined by British Prime Minister David Cameron and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard as they paid their respects to soldiers who fought in the Korean War of 1950-1953. Of the approximately 27,000 Canadian troops who fought in that war, more than 500 lost their lives and about 1,200 were wounded or injured.

A total of about 100,000 Canadians have died in wars, mostly in the 20th century.