Thousands mark Remembrance Day in Calgary

Thousands of people, including a record-breaking crowd at theMilitary Museums,attended a number of Remembrance Day ceremonies in Calgary to honour soldiers past and present.

A large part of the 9,000-strong crowd at the Military Museums was made up of veterans, Canadian Forces personnel, cadets and British soldiers from CFB Suffield.

The attendance was "unprecedented," said museum society spokeswoman Erin Borth. Dozensofvehicles wereleft abandoned on the grass along Crowchild Trail S.W. sopeople could make it to the service.

The ceremony, held outdoors on a cool, cloudy morning, was particularly emotional for family and friends of soldiers recently killed in Afghanistan.

"Just missing him so much, memories of him as a child, as a soldier," said Mel Keller, father of Cpl. Bryce Keller, who was killed in an attack in August 2006.

"It is so wonderful to see this many people out here to pay their respects to remember and you know just to be here and help us through this," said Helen Keller, the soldier's mother, who laid a wreath on behalf of fallen soldiers' families.

Master Warrant Officer Steve Merry, who just returned from an eight-month tour in Afghanistan, said he was thinking of his close friend and colleague, Cpl. Michael Starker. The 36-year-oldCalgary paramedic and reservist was killed in an ambush in Afghanistan on May 6.

Merry and some of his colleagues travelled from the Edmonton base for the Calgary service.

"We come here to pay tribute to him and the other soldiers that we knew that served in Afghanistan and those from past years. Pay our respects here and pay our respects to the families."

Natasha Van Veen brought a banner she made, painted with the message, "Thank you for the ultimate gift." She also glued articles about fallen soldiers, including Starker, on the back of the sign.

When asked when she thought about during the ceremony, she said: "All the soldiers who died in the war for us."

The Military Museums is open until 7 p.m. on Tuesday and admission is free to mark Remembrance Day.

More than 100,000 Canadians soldiers have died in various conflicts since 1899. Tuesdaymarked the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War, which saw the deaths of more than 66,000 Canadian soldiers.

So many Calgarians attended the ceremony at the Jubilee Auditorium that an overflow area was set up to allow them to watch the service on video monitors.

"Our military service people, past and present, are powerful symbols of our country. They symbolize who we are, what we've accomplished, and what we believe and aspire to be," Calgary Mayor Dave Broconnier told the audience.

Smaller groups also gathered at the Memorial Park cenotaph downtown and in the main terminal of the Calgary International Airport to remember fallen soldiers and their comrades.

All Canadian Pacific trains across the continent were halted for two minutes of silence at 11 a.m., followed by a long whistle. The company headquarters is in Calgary.