Today downunder is ANZAC Day, we are all raising a glass and taking time out to give thanks to the men and women of the Australian and New Zealand Armed Corpes (ANZACs and our allies). We'll celebrate those who returned and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we who came after them, can live in peace with each other and the descendants of those they fought against LEST WE FORGET
A toast to all those whom have gone before;lyrics by a good friend Bob Wilhelm aka Mad Dog Earl: "So let's raise a glass to old lover's and friends And drink to the ones that we won't see again Here's to the old days;the times we would spend Drinking tonight;never getting our fill Because if Time were an ocean instead of a river We'd be drinking together there still"
My great grandfather was a cannon operator in the first world war,he is only 6 greek nationals to fight for australia in that war,he came home after the war and died of residual mustard gas poisoning in the forties.His brother also served in that war.These two men were separated in greece when they were young,but in a bar in egypt in 1917 they sat next to each other not knowing they were brothers,one served australia and the other served greece.They shared a drink and learnt that there last names were the same,and that they were brothers.The greek brother came to live in australia and they were never separated again.Lest we forget.
We Will remember them. Age has not wearied them, and the years not condemned.At the rising of the sun, and at the going down, We Will remember them. And thank you to all who currently serve.
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, England mourns for her dead across the sea. Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit, Fallen in the cause of the free. Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres, There is music in the midst of desolation And a glory that shines upon our tears. 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 contemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. They mingle not with their laughing comrades again; They sit no more at familiar tables of home; They have no lot in our labour of the day-time; They sleep beyond England's foam. But where our desires are and our hopes profound, Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight, To the innermost heart of their own land they are known As the stars are known to the Night; As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust, Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain; As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness, To the end, to the end, they remain.
Well said Carps. April 25 IS the most important day in the Australian calendar to me personally and so many Australians and Kiwis all over the world. It is the day that WE, both Australians and New Zealanders mourn our dead and remember their sacrifice. Its also the day we remember our respective nations "coming of age" on the world stage of the early 20th Century. ANZAC Day....OUR National Day. Our Kiwi friends across the Tasman know what this day means all too well. It is a day of reflection - to remember the courage, sacrifice and loss of our service men and women over past conflicts, AND the people they left behind. To remember the mistakes we made, the futility of war and its effect on people even generations later. They relied on loyalty, mateship, resourcefulness and endurance to get them through - in punishing and terrible circumstances. They were'nt heroes in the truest sense of the word - they were human beings. Humans who did extraordinary things; farmers, teachers, plumbers, bakers, sportsmen and so on. They did what they had to do - honour their countries, their families and their Empire by digging in and making the best of their desperate circumstances. Indeed the AIF was composed of a voluntary force; Prime Minister Billy Hughes tried twice to introduce conscription to which the Australian people resoundingly voted no during a referendum twice during the Great War. The feeling being, either you WANT to fight for the right reasons and volunteer, or you do not fight at all. Indeed. At the time thousands of young men rushed to enlist; the pay was good, but more than that - the chance to see the world, for adventure and to "get at the Hun" proved irresistible, they LOVED to get into a scrap. To most at that time, the Great War was predicted to last but another few months and they did'nt want to miss out on taking part in the "war". The impetuousness of youth, little did they know what horrors lay before them. And so, nearly 100 years later from the Gallipoli landings - we remember. On a cold, still, very early morning at the Shrine of Remembrance, I felt uplifted to see over 40,000 Australians of all ages slowly file in to pay their respects to the fallen. Every year the numbers are increasing, as if some invisible force compells them to do so. Later on today over 90,000 fans will attend the football match that has become an institution in Melbourne - Collingwood Magpies v Essendon Bombers. I can tell you that when the Last Post sounds and there is a minute silence, you will be able to hear a pin drop, such is the emotion of the moment and the respect Australians have for our fallen servicemen and women. At dawn today all over Australia and in the killing fields at Pozieres, the Somme and other locations in France, in Belgium, all over Greece, in Crete, in Tobruk, Libya and El Alamein, at Kokoda in New Guinea, in Vietnam, Korea and Malaysia and Singapore, at Gallipoli in Turkey and in Iraq and Afghanistan they will be repeating the same verse.... They marched with songs into battle, They were young - straight of limb and true of eye. They fell with their faces to the foe. They shall not grow old as we who are left grow old, Age shall not weary nor the years condemn. At the going down of the Sun.... and in the morning, We will remember them, We will remember them...... Let us honour their sacrifice in our daily lives, never forgetting their sacrifice for the country we now live in and the life we now know and sometimes take for granted. LEST WE FORGET. Rat
When these sacrifices are recalled, I am literally limited to express a "thank you". Yet, in my heart, these two words are so inadequate that I am embarrassed. Thank you. All the best, Dale Cleveland OH
My wife served as did her brother, our 2nd eldest is going through his basic training right now, we will never forget. Scotty
The Jalopy Journal
