Virus makes for one of Europe's loneliest WWI remembrances

Last Post bugler Tonny Desodt stands on social distancing markers at the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing prior to an Armistice Day ceremony in Ypres, Belgium, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. In a town usually crowded with visitors, coronavirus restrictions prevented the general public from attending a ceremony under the Menin Gate, with even dignitary attendance reduced to a minimum. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Britain's prime Minister Boris Johnson walks past the 'Field of Remembrance' as he leaves Westminster Abbey after Armistice Day service in London, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. Services held in many nations Wednesday will commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the armistice ending World War I and honouring all those who died in war. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

The Tyne Cot cemetery, empty of visitors and shrouded in fog, viewed from the Cross of Sacrifice on Armistice Day in Zonnebeke, Belgium, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. The Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing is a burial ground for the dead of the First World War in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. It is the largest cemetery for Commonwealth forces in the world, for any war. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo takes a moment of silence after placing a wreath during an Armistice Day ceremony at the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in Ypres, Belgium, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. Due to coronavirus restrictions the general public was not permitted to attend the ceremony under the Menin Gate, with dignitary attendance reduced to a minimum. (Kurt Desplenter, Pool via AP)

Red paper poppies fall around Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo as he attends an Armistice Day ceremony at the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in Ypres, Belgium, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. In a town usually crowded with visitors, coronavirus restrictions prevented the general public from attending a ceremony under the Menin Gate, with even dignitary attendance reduced to a minimum. (Kurt Desplenter, Pool via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron attends Armistice Day ceremonies marking the end of World War I, in Paris, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. French President Emmanuel Macron is commemorating the 102nd anniversary of the armistice ending World War I and honoring all those who have died for France in two elaborate, solemn ceremonies Wednesday. (Yoan Valat/Pool via AP)

The empty Champs Elysees avenue is seen during the Armistice Day ceremonies marking the end of World War I, in Paris, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. French President Emmanuel Macron is commemorating the 102nd anniversary of the armistice ending World War I and honoring all those who have died for France in two elaborate, solemn ceremonies Wednesday. (Christian Hartmann/Pool via AP)

The Padre’s flag, the British Union flag that was used by the Reverend David Railton as an altar cloth on the battlefields of northern France during World War I, is carried through Westminster Abbey to be laid on the altar by Guardsman Rhian Morgan of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, watched by honoured guests including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, left, attending the Armistice Day service at Westminster Abbey in London, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. The specially arranged service, with social distancing because of the coronavirus, commemorates the 102nd anniversary of the armistice ending World War I, and one hundred years since the symbolic interment of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey. David Railton used the flag as an altar cloth during the War in Ypres, when he first thought of the idea of the unknown warrior. (Jeremy Selwyn/Pool via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron, center, stands after laying a wreath in front of the statue of Georges Clemenceau, during the Armistice Day ceremonies marking the end of World War I, in Paris, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. French President Emmanuel Macron is commemorating the 102nd anniversary of the armistice ending World War I and honoring all those who have died for France in two elaborate, solemn ceremonies Wednesday. (Christian Hartmann/Pool via AP)

Belgium's King Philippe attends an Armistice Day ceremony at the Congress Column in Brussels, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. (Olivier Matthys, Pool via AP)

The general public wear protective face masks at they are kept at a distance during an Armistice Day ceremony at the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in Ypres, Belgium, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. Due to coronavirus restrictions the general public was not permitted to attend the ceremony under the Menin Gate, with dignitary attendance reduced to a minimum. (Kurt Desplenter, Pool via AP)

The Padre’s flag, the British Union flag that was used by the Reverend David Railton as an altar cloth on the battlefields of northern France during World War I, is carried through Westminster Abbey to be laid on the altar by Guardsman Rhian Morgan of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, watched by honoured guests attending the Armistice Day service at Westminster Abbey in London, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. The specially arranged service, with social distancing because of the coronavirus, commemorates the 102nd anniversary of the armistice ending World War I, and one hundred years since the symbolic interment of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey. David Railton used the flag as an altar cloth during the War in Ypres, when he first thought of the idea of the unknown warrior. (Jeremy Selwyn/Pool via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron leaves after attending a ceremony under the Arc de Triomphe during Armistice Day ceremonies marking the end of World War I, in Paris, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. French President Emmanuel Macron is commemorating the 102nd anniversary of the armistice ending World War I and honoring all those who have died for France in two elaborate, solemn ceremonies Wednesday. (Yoan Valat/Pool via AP)

Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall leave after attending the Armistice Day service at Westminster Abbey in London, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. The specially arranged service, with social distancing because of the coronavirus, commemorates the 102nd anniversary of the armistice ending World War I, and one hundred years since the symbolic interment of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey. (Aaron Chown/Pool via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron, center foreground, French Prime Minister Jean Castex, center background, and French Defence Minister Florence Parly, left, stand at the tomb of the unknown soldier under the Arc de Triomphe during Armistice Day ceremonies marking the end of World War I, in Paris, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. French President Emmanuel Macron is commemorating the 102nd anniversary of the armistice ending World War I and honoring all those who have died for France in two elaborate, solemn ceremonies Wednesday. (Yoan Valat/Pool via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron, center foreground, and French Prime Minister Jean Castex, center background, stand at the tomb of the unknown soldier under the Arc de Triomphe during Armistice Day ceremonies marking the end of World War I, in Paris, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. French President Emmanuel Macron is commemorating the 102nd anniversary of the armistice ending World War I and honoring all those who have died for France in two elaborate, solemn ceremonies Wednesday. (Yoan Valat/Pool via AP)

Britain's Camilla Duchess of Cornwall leaves after attending the Armistice Day service at Westminster Abbey in London, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. The specially arranged service, with social distancing because of the coronavirus, commemorates the 102nd anniversary of the armistice ending World War I, and one hundred years since the symbolic interment of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey. (Aaron Chown/Pool via AP)