FROM the Australian War Memorial in Canberra to tiny rural hamlets, the nation stood briefly united yesterday for a minute’s silence — at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

Under the traditional words, “Lest We Forget” and “To Our Glorious Dead”, wreaths were laid at cenotaphs around the country by everyone from John Howard to ordinary citizens, from premiers and a host of civic and military dignitaries to the grieving families of returned and fallen soldiers.

Ceremonies for Remembrance Day, including the playing of The Last Post, marked the 89th anniversary of the end of World War I, and the deaths of more than 100,000 Australian soldiers in overseas conflicts.

In Canberra, the Prime Minister said the deaths in Afghanistan of Trooper David Pearce and Sergeant Matthew Locke had been a sad reminder of the nature of sacrifice in war on behalf of a free people.

“Whether the deaths occurred in Gallipoli or the Somme, in the Western Desert, Kokoda or Milne Bay, in bomber command over Europe, in Long Tan or Oruzgan Province in Afghanistan, all Australians who have died in conflict have died for a common ideal … that men and women might choose how to live their lives and to shape their futures,” he said.

At the same ceremony, Polish-born Henryk Kustra, 82, who attends the War Memorial each year, applauded Mr Howard’s recognition of the human cost of war but decried Australia’s involvement in Iraq as a tragic mistake.

“I don’t believe in war, because I saw some terrible things happen,” he said.

Mr Kustra lost his brother and father to the ravages of Siberian prison camps when World War II ended his childhood at age 14.

Later released, he fought alongside Australians in North Africa during the Battle of Tobruk.

Alone and barely out ofhis teens by war’s end, Mr Kustra emigrated to Australia armed only with the photos and addresses of soldiers he had befriended.

In Perth, Kevin Rudd took a break from campaigning to lay a wreath at the King’s Park War Memorial. Five defence force cadets fainted in the wilting heat. The Opposition Leader later checked on their welfare as ambulance officers treated them.

In Sydney, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said no group of Australians had done more to shape our values than the men and women who bore silent witness in distant fields. “We are a democracy, a nation confident in who we are,” Dr Nelson said. “It is those we honour today who gave us that legacy.”

In Melbourne, about 5000 people gathered at the Shrine of Remembrance for a moving ceremony in warm sunshine.

They included Judy Bush, whose father, Ernest Hibbert, was a light horseman in World War I and whose late husband, Horrie, served inthe military for 33 years. “You come in memory of them, it’s as if they were here,” said Mrs Bush, who wiped away tears during theceremony.

In Brisbane, Queensland Governor Quentin Bryce and Premier Anna Bligh were among the dignitaries to lay wreaths at the Shrine of Remembrance in Anzac Square.

In western Sydney, the Bankstown Multicultural Youth Service organised school children to participate in a morning service at thelocal cenotaph.

Kristina Mitropoulos, 16, who won a prize to travel to Gallipoli next year, said: “To me, it is learning about the ultimate sacrifice thefathers of our nation gave. Although they are not directly related to us, they made the nation what it is today. We are keeping that spirit alive amongst the youth of Australia.”

As part of ceremony at Sydney’s Martin Place, Colonel Roger Noble reflected on the 90th anniversary of the Charge at Beersheba bythe Australian Light Horse. He said the traditions of courage, endurance, mateship and sacrifice that underlined the conduct of theLight Horse were “quite literally part of what we are today”.