What does ANZAC Day mean to you?

[Buttsy-Bells]

A very emotional day for me also. My late father, Stan, was a proud Rat of Tobruk. I had the honour and pleasure last year, for the first time, of attending the Dawn Service with my three adult kids, after which we proceeded to the game (with refreshment at Y and J's on the way).

Just reading this thread brings a tear to the eye. The Last Post is always moving, with my hand on heart and thoughts of Dad and his digger mates. After seeing off the Germans at Tobruk, Dad was posted to New Guinea, where he was shot in the stomach at close range by a Jap. The bullet passed through a tobacco tin and pill tin given to him by my Mum and saved his life. Dad died at 55 and his funeral was the first I had attended. Through the emotion I clearly remember the words of the minister reflecting on Dad being a Rat of Tobruk - "Stan didn't die for his country, BUT HE WAS PREPARED TO ". All of our veterans left our shores, I'm sure, with that possibility in mind. That's why they are heroes and deserve every ounce of respect we can pay them.

Shake a digger's hand with a "well done cobber" - particularly on Anzac Day.

[Hurricane]

Wow the day must be so moving for you with such a great involvement from your family. What's your medal for Jacqui?

[Proud Pies]

[Proud Pies]

[stui magpie]

^

Ditto. Makes me remember my uncle. He spent several years in changi and came back a very changed man. My mum was just a kid and told me stories about how he came back and everyone was on eggshells around him for a long time. he wouldn't talk about what happened, except to a few mates at the RSL which he helped found.

[Proud Pies]

[optimax]

This song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Urtiyp-G6jY

My grandparents fought for Italy but ive always been brought up with a sound history of the Australian army and my dad is of the age that the Vietnam war was very close to home (he just missed conscription a couple of times).

I have the utmost respect for all our veterans, and love the fact we can celebrate them like we do

[stui magpie]

[Lorelei]

Allen John Gibson Cleary (Great-Great Grandfather)
22nd Battalion
14th Reinforcement
Left Melbourne in July 1916.
Lost his leg in battle and returned to Australia November 1917.

Allen's brother James Joseph, also left on the same boat as him and died back in Melbourne of injuries sustained in battle. Allen's son, Allen sold peanuts at Victoria Park.



Francis Cleary (Great Grandfather)
Son of Allen (above)
VX28141
4th Anti-Tank Regiment
POW Thai-Burma Railway

(In this photo is his mate 'Fitzy' (L) - I found out this is Thomas Fitzpatrick and he died as a prisoner of war in Siam)

[Piesnchess]

One aspect of the Diggers of both World wars, and Korea,is that these returned servicemen got virtally nil support emotionally or psycholgically when they got home-unlike the later conflicts. My Dad, 6th Div, Artillery AIF,wounded twice at Bardia and in New guinea, like so many vets, got nothing like that. After six years of war, he came back, got demobbed,a handsake, "thanks for that, now bugger off and get a job." No ongoing support at all, zilch.
Yet, like so many, he worked hard, raised a family in Highett, and was on school committes, and community projects. It was only a few years ago that he told us he still had nightmares about Crete and new guinea,and that he felt that he did something in new guinea that made him a war criminal. I wont go into it here, but he blamed himself, but in reality he was totally innocent, as we told him time and again. At age 90, the terrible memories never left him, and he told us a number of times they were as real to him as if they were yesterday.
These are the sort of things Anzac day is, the loss of so many young blokes, the horrors of warfare,and what it does to decent men. I will be thinking of all this when I march for him, and remembering what he always told us, "Those most in favour of war are always those who have never experienced its horrors themselves,the armchair patriots."Amen Dad.

[Tilly18]

My dad's granddad fought in WW1.
He fought in Turkey.
We go to the Dawn Service every year, last year dad when to Turkey for the one over there.
I buy a poppy every year, and I wear it.
For school we're going to a service tomorrow, which I'm really looking forward to.

[Magpie Camo]

[HAL]

What's your favorite store? What kind of fashion do you like?

[Troppo]

You know, one of the significant things that have emerged in consideration of Oz military history in recent times has been the movement away from an absolute focus on Gallipoli to an increasing widening of attention to include the Western Front too.

'Twas in France and Flanders that the majority of Australian kiddies copped it and contributed to our greatest victories over the Bosch.

We need balance in our national posturing - Gallipoli, a mistake and a withdrawal up against Europa where our lads both died in apocryphal numbers and excelled in the war business - delivering the enemy (please read German) their comeuppance by 1918.

Many magnificent Magpies gave their lives during this nasty business and we should remember them well.

[HAL]

Tell me a story.