At the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, World War I ended.
Since then, November 11 has been commemorated around the world as a day to remember all wars and those who fought in them.
In the U.S., it's called Veterans Day. And today we are looking at some of the ways we remember the men and women who have served.
One Las Vegas Air Force veteran is marking the occasion by trying to do something big.
Retired Master Sergeant Jimmy Petrolia is attempting to break the world record for longest flight in a wingsuit. He will jump out of a plane at 30,000 feet.
Petrolia wants to raise awareness and money for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which provides support to children whose parents died in the line of duty.
"Towards the end of my career, I had some civilian skydiving buddies -- professional skydivers -- who started the whole wingsuit thing," Petrolia told KNPR's State of Nevada when asked how he got the idea to do this. "They were some of the original instructors, and I thought it just looked like such a great idea to try this."
Petrolia served as a pararescueman for the Air Force. In this role, he jumped out of airplanes and tended to wounded servicemembers. Serving from 1990 to 2012, he had tours in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
"A pararescueman is someone who is special operations personnel that brings technical rescue to the battlefield," he said. "So, even the [Navy] SEALs and the Green Berets need a 911, and that's us. It's kind of special for the PJs [parajumpers] because everytime we go out, somebody else gets to come home."
Petrolia said his attempt to break the records may come down to factors beyond his control -- if the tailwind, for instance, is strong, he'll have an easier chance of getting close to breaking the records.
The jump is taking place on Veterans Day in Davis, Calif., at a facility the Federal Aviation Administration sanctions for jumps like Petrolia's. He said he will be in the same airplane used to break the records previously, and hopes that is a good omen for his attempt.
Jimmy Petrolia, master sergeant, United States Air Force (retired)
