April 25, 2021
As an Australian, it hard not to recognize in this story about the military, 25 April. For Australian and New Zealenders, this commemorates the landings of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) at Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey during World War 1. We remember those who served, not only in in Gallipoli, and the rest of World War 1, but those who served in World War 2, and other subsequent wars, peacekeeping missions, and served without seeing active service.
We gather at dawn services, at towns and cities across our countries, (and when we could travel), an then at mid morning for services. All to give thanks for the service given by those who served. When we could travel, as a collective we made trips to locations including Gallipoli, to Villers-Bretonneaux in France (where there was a huge battle in 24-25 April 1918), Singapore, Sandakan in Malaysian Borneo, and other places throughout the world where Australian and New Zealanders served, to pay remembrance for their service. Even if we cannot be there for that day, we make the effort to travel to those locations to pay our respects.
Like many countries, the service of those in the military has had a long lasting impact on many families, and continues to do so, let alone shaping the course of what has happened in the country, and that can be both good and bad.
My extended family is littered with people who volunteered to serve, from World War 1, through to modern times. There have been deaths that have impacted those close to the people who died, and ongoing physical and psychological impacts. We civilians need to be there to support them.
Two thinks come to mind when thinking about sacrifices, the first is the Ode, which it the 4th stanza in the poem, For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon. It reminds me that it is always important to remember the sacrifices made by those who served. The second, while attributed to Kemal Ataturk the first president of the modern Turkish state and enscribed on his memorial on ANZAC Parade, Canberra (this attribution is in dispute), reflects that those who paid the sacrifice can be buried far from home but become part of the story of the land in which they are buried.
The Ode
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.
Response:
We will remember them
Lest we forget
Words from Kemal Ataturk Memorial:
"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours... You the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well