I grew up in the UK, and although there was no formal holiday, there was a universal recognition of Remembrance (or Armistice) Day, including 2 minutes of silence on the BBC. I'm not sure that a national holiday is appropriate, but I appreciate the efforts to keep the memories alive. The London Free Press, to its credit, has been running stories all week, including the several about veterans going to elementary schools to talk to the kids there.

I have to say that I'm touched by the sentiments expressed here, and thanks mpc1 for beginning the thread. My own father spent most of his war building a railway in Burma and never talked about it, but he attended Remembrance Day services every year.