25th April: ANZAC Day
ANZAC Soldier, World War 1, The Cenotaph, Sydney NSW Australia.
Off my TV broadcast of the Dawn Service this morning.
"For the Fallen" : an excerpt.
"They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them."
[Those last 4 lines are known here as 'The Ode']
Poem written by English poet Laurence Binyon in 1914.
In Australia and New Zealand, 25 April each year is celebrated as ANZAC Day.
On this day, 99 years ago, soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed on the beaches of Gallipoli in Turkey and the legend of the ANZACs was born in blood.
There were also British, Canadian and French troops involved in the campaign.
Having worn the uniform of the Australian Army when doing my National Service, on this day, I pause to remember the sacrifice of all those who fell in battle, on all sides, in all wars.
Sorry, but I exclude suicide bombers.
Not all will understand this. That's OK.
Lest we Forget.
george
PS: Looks like not many people care about ANZAC Day or veterans generally. Very sad. Will Veterans Day in November also be ignored? I think not.
Recent Comments
6
It is a tragedy that humans take up arms against each other George. More tragic is the way in which the such things are forgotten, romanticized & the affected left to their nightmares, while the profiters empire build.
Lest we forget is very fitting mate. d
(Bob Zimmerman certainly made no bones about who benefits from conflict - http://goo.gl/KCbUBl - Not all understand is possibly an understatement George)
Goodonya, Damien.
It's raining in Sydney as I watch the march on TV. I was up for the Dawn Service as well. There are blokes and women in their 80s who are marching, many with their carers, with their walking frames and in wheelchairs. And the youngsters march too. Hard to keep a dry eye.
Bob sure had an understanding of what wars are about and who creates them and benefits from them. Thanks for the link, mate.
G
See more comments
A world of peace. What a wonderful thought that is George. I believe after WW1 that in Scotland or perhaps all the UK, there were twice as many women as men is some towns and villages. Tragic. Amen to peace.
Thanks, Annie. Too often, peace is achieved through war rather than consensus between people. Those who paid the ultimate price for the freedoms we now enjoy should not be forgotten.
:) george