HALIFAX -- Remembrance Day seems to have special significance in Atlantic Canada, on the coast that was closest to the battlefields of Europe. Even at a time when the world is fighting an invisible enemy, Maritimers took the time Wednesday to remember those who once battled their foes face-to-face.

Numbers were smaller than the usual hundreds, while hand sanitizer, masks and physical distancing were required at Remembrance Day services in the region.

Memorial Cross mother Angela Reid has attended many of these ceremonies, both before and since her son died serving in Afghanistan in 2006.

The pandemic would not change that.

"There’s a lot to think about on this day, and we hold them in our hearts," said Reid at the annual service at Grand Parade in Halifax.

For many, the COVID-19 pandemic meant doing things differently, with wreaths laid earlier in the day in an effort to keep elderly veterans safe.

"I think people understand that COVID is dangerous," said veteran Wendall Brown. "I think we’re reminded of that everyday."

At Camp Hill Veterans Memorial Hospital, instead of a ceremony for its 140 veterans, there were small ceremonies on each unit and time set aside for reflection.

"All veterans will have an opportunity to come out and have an individual moment of reflection and remembrance at the cenotaph," said Heather White of Nova Scotia Health.

Most ceremonies were by invite only, but some still came out to watch from a distance, like 89-year-old widow Joan Blake-Purcell, who went to honour her husband who landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day.

"I just want to remember Norm and my brother, and all the rest of the heroes," said Blake-Purcell.

That need to remember is ever-present.

"I just have to keep remembering, keep showing them, that I remember," said veteran Gus Cameron.

In a year that also won’t be forgotten, many Maritimers did what public health officials asked them to: stay home and watch ceremonies online or on TV.

Organizers of the ceremony at Grand Parade are hoping by next year this time, they can once again come out in the numbers they’re used to.