ANZAC Day
 

For those who aren't aware, today is one of the most important days in Australia.

ANZAC Day is a day where the nation almost stops (nothing stops the footy) to pay tribute to those who fought and died in every conflict that involved Australia.

LEST WE FORGET.

btw, fingers crossed for those at the ceremony at Gallipoli in Turkey. This was recently outlined as an Al-Qaeda target.

Aussies rock.

And my own salute to your fallen countrymen.

Thanks for posting this!

Well put. I agree completely.

LEST WE FORGET.

After watching the cermony on TV, I spent the day in the most Australian way I knew how - on a boat out on Sydney harbour cooking a Barbecue and drinking beer.:)

Anytime a country pausing in remembrance of its fallen comrades is a noble time indeed. I was unaware of this Austrailian holiday but will pause and take moment of silence.

Never knew of ANZAC Day until I married an Aussie. My wife and I have always marked this day in the best way possible. When we lived near Washington DC, we would sometimes attend memorial celebrations at the Australian embassy. Now we try to catch parts of the ceremony on cable, fire up the barbecue, make do with Fosters (wish I could get XXXX or VB here), and a call home to the out-laws. Might even watch my DVD of 'Gallipoli'.

I salute those of Australia and New Zealand who gave their all. The world is indeed a better place for their sacrifice.

Hope you enjoyed your special day - and thanks from me to all the Aussies that have given their all to make the world a safer place.

Reviving this, as today was Anzac Day for 2004.

I spent the day w/ mates watching the footy and having a bbq..

Hope all the Aussies had a good one :)

wow, impressive use of the search function!

I've never heard of Anzac day, what does Anzac mean?

also, I'm not too informed on australian military exploits. I know they were involved in WWI (and shot down the red baron), but other than that I'm a bit in the dark on this, can anyone help out?

Let's not forget the Kiwis!

I wish I saw this thread yesterday..

ANZAC stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corps.

They are basically the divisions that Aussie/NZ sent to help out the Allies in WW1 and 2. In WWI they landed in Gallipoli and suffered heavy casualties, mainly because of British mistakes (bombing the wrong beach etc).

In WWII they were all over the show, some were in Greece/Yugoslavia, others in the deserts of North Africa battling first Mussolini and then Rommel. Others were in the South Pacific fighting the Japanese, in Burma and the Phillipines especially. As well as the unfortunate last stand at Singapore, which sent many ANZAC survivors into Japanese POW camps.

Even having been born outside New Zealand, I really feel something for the ANZACs.

Yes, i appreciate Australians for that. Of course, our country doesn't do that and we're the ones fighting all of the time.

good to know. thanks. We wouldn't have made it this far, if it weren't for allies.

Cheers, fellow Earthlings!

I had seen the movie Gallipoli, with Mel Gibson, when I was a teen.
I had forgotten what it was all about, though.

I went looking...history of Gallipoli

Thanks, bundy. :)

I ran across this poem, as well.

And the Indians, Turkish, French, British...

Just to put this into perspective:

# Australia: 18.500 wounded and missing - 7,594 killed.
# New Zealand : 5,150 wounded and missing - 2,431 killed.
# British Empire (excl. Anzac) : 198,000 wounded and missing - 22,000 killed.
# France : 23,000 wounded and missing - 27,000 killed.
# Ottoman Empire (Turkey) : 109,042 wounded and missing - 57,084 killed.
# Furthermore 1.700 Indians died in Gallipoli, plus an unknown number of Germans, Newfoundlanders and Senegalese.



Mr Mephisto

ANZAC Holiday still going on here, damn, wish I could get out of class for this. Fucking Americans... no appreciation for rugby, and have no idea what a flanker or a lock is... grumble, grumble, grumble... Where's my one-way to New Zealand????



Nah, j/p, I love me homeland, and appreciate those in ANZAC that gave their lives and all other veterans that gave their lives. Thank you all.

The point was that New Zealand is a part of ANZAC Day rememberence also. Spartak was not trying to diminish the sacrifices made by people elseware, he was raising awareness that this is not an Australian only holiday. Too many people forget this or don't care, because they think that New Zealand is say, the Hawaii of Australia. They're more the Canada to our United States.

ANZAC Day mainly commemorates the failed invasion of Gallipoli in WWI.



My grandfather and his four brothers served in WWII and my uncle served in Vietnam. Every ANZAC Day my uncle takes his grandson to the dawn services. If it wasn't for the respect i have for him i wouldn't be considering the military as a viable option for a career.


Lest we forget

I know a couple of WWII, Vietnam and Korean vets who would dispute that.

As an dispassioned observer in this country, I would say that whilst ANZAC day seems inexorably linked to the Gallipoli myth, it does not mainly commemerate just that action.

ANZAC is meant to be about all Australian and New Zealand veterans of active service overseas.

Mr Mephisto

Yes, and I'm sure that in India, Turkey, France and Britain they have days for remembering their veterans too.

Sheesh.... that's a bit short-sighted and mean spirited, isn't it?

All I said is that we shouldn't forget all those that fell at Gallipoli.

For your information, the TURKS make up the majority of people who attend the dawn service at Gallipoli each year.

The following words were spoken by Ataturk himself in 1934.

"Those heroes who 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 Mehemets to us where they lie side by side 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 bosoms and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they become our sons as well."

They are on the Ataturk Memorial in Turakena Bay, Gallipoli, and at the Canbera Kemal Ataturk Memorial (which was unveiled on Anzac Day in 1985 by the Minister for Foreign Affairs (Turkey), and the Minister of Defense and Minister for Veteran Affairs (Australia).

I'm happy that the Australian Government, at least, recognizes Anzac Day as a commemoration of all those who fell; not just Australian, and not just at Gallipoli.


Mr Mephisto

I'm going to do a bit more research, but I was always under the impression that the ANZAC losses in the Dardinelles were a shade under 80,000. Thanks for the detail too, champion!

I'm proud to give honor to the good Australians and New Zealanders and all their good service to secure our world.

http://www.awm.gov.au/index.asp
Australian War Memorial Site Link

I was just there a couple of weeks ago. It's pretty amazing, and the actual physical location and surroundings are beautiful. The long boulevard that stretches halfway across the city centre, from the Parliament house to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, lined with memorials to specific actions, is well worth the visit alone.

http://www.awm.gov.au/images/virtualtour/5/1.jpg


Mr Mephisto

here here
lest we forget