It's been two years since the United Arab Emirates first began observing Nov. 30 as Martyr's Day.
In memory of all Emirati nationals who died in the line of duty, here's a list to help remind us why they all matter and what it is that they died for.
1. Salem Suhail bin Khamis: the first Emirati soldier killed during service
In 1971, Salem Suhail bin Khamis became the first Emirati soldier to die in the line of duty during the "battle of the Greater Tunb," a conflict between the UAE and Iran over three disputed islands along the gulf.
As Iranian troops made their way to the island of Greater Tunb - with an aim to occupy it on the eve of the UAE's foundation - they ordered bin Khamis to lower the flag of Ras Al Khaimah.
After the 20-year-old soldier refused, he was killed at gunpoint.
Bin Khamis was the head of the island's police force consisting of six people.
The UAE honored his death 41 years later, in 2015, remembering his defiant spirit as a remarkable point in the nation's history.
2. Saif Ghubash: the government minister who was assassinated in 1977
The UAE's first Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Saif Saeed Bin Ghubash, was assassinated in 1977 as he entered Abu Dhabi airport.
A self-made man, the 47-year-old was killed as he was bidding farewell to Abdul Halim Khaddam, the former Syrian foreign minister, who was visiting the UAE at the time to discuss U.S. efforts to renew Middle East peace talks.
The assassin meant to kill Khaddam.
In 2014, the UAE honored Ghubash by naming a street after him.
"Saif Ghubash was a man of determination," said Faisal Al Teniji, a Federal National Council member, according to The National.
3. Khalifa Al Mubarak: the Emirati ambassador who was assassinated in 1984
Khalifa Ahmed Abdel Aziz Al Mubarak, the UAE’s ambassador to France was assassinated in 1984, outside his apartment in Paris.
The 34-year-old ambassador was shot in the head with a pistol in front of the embassy residence on Avenue Charles Floquet. He died four hours later in a hospital.
The attack was described by police as a "politically driven" one, being the second assassination in France in 2 days that year.
Al Mubarak took up his post in Paris in 1980 and was the father of 4 children.
In 2014, the UAE honored Al Mubarak by >naming a street after him.
4. In 2015, UAE held three days of mourning in tribute to the 45 Emirati soldiers who died in Yemen
In 2015, UAE's Ministry of Presidential Affairs announced a three-day mourning in honor of the 45 Emirati soldiers killed in Yemen.
The soldiers were "performing their national duty as part of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen," the General Command of the UAE Armed Forces said.
Their death came after Houthis fired a rocket into a weapons' warehouse at a military camp.
The President Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan "mourns the death of the brave soldiers who [were] martyred while performing their sacred duty as part of Arab coalition’s forces’ Operation Restoring Hope in order to defend justice and righteousness and to support those who suffer injustice [sic]," the ministry said in a statement at the time.
People on Twitter began sending their condolences under the hashtag #>UAEStrong, as they acknowledged the efforts made by the fallen soldiers.
5. In August 2017, 4 Emirati soldiers were killed in a helicopter crash in Yemen
Earlier this year, four soldiers died in the Governorate of Shabwah in Yemen as the helicopter they were flying in crash-landed following a technical error.
The four soldiers were identified soon after as Captain Ahmed Khalifa Al Bloushi, First Lieutenant Pilot Jasim Saleh Al Zaabi, Warrant Officer Mohamed Saeed Al Hassani, and Warrant Officer Samir Mohamed Murad Abu Bakr.
6. Some 85 soldiers have died since March 2015 in Yemen
Some 85 Emirati soldiers have been killed since the Saudi-led coalition began in March 2015.
May the spirits of all those killed in honor of their "duty to the nation" be remembered forever.