SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- Leaders of the 52nd Fighter Wing and citizens of Bitburg, Germany, participated in a German National Day of Mourning observance ceremony at the Kolmeshöhe Military Cemetery in Bitburg, Germany, Nov. 13, 2016.
The day, known as Volkstrauertag in German, observes the human cost of war and was established following the conclusion of the First World War.
"Soldiers' graves, as Albert Schweitzer once said, eventually can be the greatest preachers of peace," said Joachim Gauck, president of the Federal Republic of Germany, during a 2015 Volkstrauertag speech to the German Bundestag. "Then, as we have experienced, reconciliation will be possible beyond the graves. Then peace can become an enduring reality; for this, we bear a joint responsibility."
For more photos of the ceremony, visit the following photo set on the Spangdahlem Air Base Flickr page.