ANZAC Day 2005

Apr. 25 - What can we say about the Australians? Solid friends, valiant warriors, the kind of people you can trust to watch your backsides - which they do every day in a region just as deadly with terrorist activity as the Mid-east - and first in whenever there's a catastrophe, be it tsunami, cyclone, or bombs.

The generic Australian news site has a wonderful flash show (probably only for today) and has the video for services in Gallipoli, where over 17,000 gathered for the dawn services to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the the beach assault in 1915.

Australia's prime minister addressed the assembled:

"It lives on in the valour and sacrifice of young men and women that ennoble Australia in our times," Mr Howard said.

"In the scrub of the Solomons, in the villages of Timor, in the desert of Iraq and the coast of Nias.

"It lives on in the nation's easy familiarity, in Australians looking after each other through courage and compassion in the face of adversity.

"So we dedicate ourselves at this hour, at this place, not just to the memory of Anzac but to its eternal place in the Australian soul."

In Iraq, not even sandstorms prevented Australian troops from observing the day.

Commander of Australian forces in southern Iraq, Lieutenant Colonel Roger Noble, said he felt a sense of history with the new mission effectively starting on Anzac Day.

"I think it's fantastic to get there for Anzac Day," Lt-Col Noble said.

The Australian military had historic links to the region with a number of Australian soldiers during World War I having operated across southern Iraq, he said.

[...]

Australian troops also remembered Anzac Day at Camp Victory in Baghdad.

About 200 troops and guests attended the dawn service despite the sandstorm and light rain.

Senior officers who laid wreaths at the service included multinational force commander US General George Casey, Australia's Middle East national commander Air Commodore Greg Evans, Lieutenant General David Hurley and British Major General Mark Mann.

Australian army chaplain Major Dave Hoskin officiated at the service, which included a moving audio-visual presentation to the song And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda.

Colonel Orhan Goktepe, commander of the Turkish contingent in Iraq, read Kamal Ataturk's tribute to the Anzacs and spoke of a mutual respect and friendship between Turkey and Australia.

Police posted as part of the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) joined the Australian troops in the Solomon Islands to mark the day and special tribute was paid during the service to the two Australians who have died there, Australian Federal Police officer Adam Dunning and army Private Jamie Clark.

In Sydney, 250,000 people lined the streets to cheer participants in the Anzac Day march.
In Brisbane, 15,000 cheered the march and many held signs that said "Thank you."
In Adelaide, Bill Denny, chair of the RSL Anzac Day committee said "We must never glorify war on Anzac Day. .." Five Turkish veterans had travelled from Turkey and participated in the ceremonies.
There were up to 30,000 in Victoria, where

The parade featured a large contingent of children and grandchildren of war veterans proudly wearing war medals on their chests and carrying black-and-white photos of their relatives as they marched towards the Shrine of Remembrance.

In Perth, a 107 year-old veteran led the parade

WEAKENED by recent illness and hunched low in his seat, Australia's oldest World War I veteran Peter Casserly led the Anzac Day parade through Perth, attracting heartfelt cheers from the thousands who lined the streets.

Tim Blair writes:

Australia is a young nation, and so finds it easy to place itself on the right side of history. We are not swung off course by the historical ballast carried by older countries; we fight the right wars, for the right causes. Australian servicemen and women have prevailed in many heroic conflicts. Yet AustraliaÂ’s national day of remembrance for our fallen is tied to a battle ninety years ago that we lost, catastrophically. ...

Anzac Day is less to do with loss or victory than it is to do with struggle and defiance, even when facing certain defeat. But Anzac Day also serves to remind us of Australian triumphs ...

Read the post and by all means follow the links.

Some other great reads:

Ozguru's excellent post on Anzac Day,

James Ozark and his daughter mourn the loss of her great-great grandfather in that war.

Bastards Inc. writes what ANZAC Day means to them:

It is claimed that Australia lost her innocence on the shores of Gallipoli. I would counter that rather than losing anything, Australia gained a reputation.

Just 170 men out of the Australian 4th Brigade that landed ashore on the 24/25 April 1915 made it off 8 months later. Out of over 4000 men, 170 left.

The death toll at Gallipoli was horrific:

While paying tribute to the 8709 Australians who died at Gallipoli, and the 50,000-60,000 who served on the peninsula, Mr Howard also remembered the 2701 New Zealanders, 21,000 British, 15,000 French, 1358 Indian, 49 Newfoundlanders and 86,000 Turks who died in the campaign.

As an American, I feel honoured to mark this day and to express my gratitude for the enduring fraternity between two of Mother England's more rambunctious kids.

I also dropped by Kathy's site, knowing that she too would remember to thank our valiant ally today. Well done!

Posted by: Debbye at 08:42 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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