ANZAC DAY

Today I had the privilege of facilitating the Anzac service at Maroba Aged Care Facility. To be among the residents who can remember the difficulties and tragedies of war was indeed an honour.

Dad served in the 2/13th A.I.F during WW11 and Anzac Day has always been a special day in our family. He like many other returned service men never talked about his war service. I know he was too young to enlist at the outbreak of war and he had a job working on the railways. In his last years I asked him many questions about his life but the war was something that was always off limits. He did tell me however that he wanted to join the Army so he stopped going to work, I think in the hope of losing his job. He told me his boss came to see him and asked why he was not coming to work and when Dad told him he arranged for him to be released from his job so he could enlist. He was at this time still to you to join the A.I.F but did his training and when he turned 18 was able to enlist.

From studying his war records I have been able to discern that he served overseas and was stationed in Borneo and New Guinea. He was sent to Morotai and then to Rabaul. While the records do not give any indication of what it was like for him, from reading historical accounts of attempts to defeat the Japanese, one can only image what he faced and his subsequent reluctance to talk about it.

Each Anzac Day Dad would march with his battalion in the Newcastle Anzac march. I remember as kids we would catch the bus into town with Mum and watch this event, happily waving our flags, as the bands and the returned service men would pass by. As a child I did not realise the significance of this event and it was only as I became older that the true bravery of these men became apparent to me. As the years passed the ranks of those marching thinned, Dad became too unwell to march but he would still participate and travel the route via taxi.

He was a proud member of the Hamilton R.S.L. and there formed many lasting friendships and experienced true mate ship. Dad would have been proud of the tribute paid by his R.S.L mates at his funeral.
Being part of the service at Maroba today caused me to reflect, as I do each ANZAC day of how lucky we are to live in a country where others gave there lives and liberty to defend our shores. As I think about the difficulties across the globe I truly hope that one day we can live in peace, unity and harmony.