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LEST
WE FORGET
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They
shall not grow 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
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From
the poem "For the Fallen" by Laurence Binyon 1869-1943
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Pressed
against the rails
of ships' decks groaning
with the brave...
As heavy in the water as
the hearts of those who waved |
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The
mighty ANZAC spirit
Good mates standing side
by side...
They battled, unrelenting,
With unfailing Aussie pride
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Those
of us who were teenagers in the sixties remember Vietnam
Hippies spouted peace and burned flags
Young boys went to war and came back with fractured souls
Their contribution sullied by an unfashionable conflict
Boys whose biggest problem before donning the uniform
was whether the old man was going to come through with ten
bucks
and the car keys on Saturday night, and whether, having spent
this
goodly sum on a romantic evening at the Drive-In, the object
of his affection
was going to let him get past first base.
With all this life experience, they boarded planes with their
mates and flew into the abyss.
They came back with jackets (if they came back) that were
emblazoned with the words.. "When I die I'll go to Heaven
- I've served my time in Hell"
and they had...
But for many the Hell stayed with them. What they had seen
and done changed them forever. Emotional scars, illness,
grief, the rejection and disrespect they faced as they stepped
back into our world. They were heroes. Not because they
killed people. Not because they fought in a war that was wrong
- what war is right? But because they did what their
country asked of them. What WE asked of them.
Because they looked out for their mates. Because they
were afraid, and did it anyway.
They were heroes, and we had no business treating them otherwise.
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This
page is dedicated with love and gratitude to every man and
woman on this earth who went with heavy heart to war
and to whom we owe our freedom. To the veterans and families
all over the world who worried, who grieved and who still
try to cope with the aftermath..
Thank you all.
KEEP
THE ANZAC SPIRIT ALIVE
REMEMBRANCE AND RESPECT
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