Cultured Views

Anzac Day. Lest We Forget.

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Anzac Day is a tradition in Australia that, I sincerely hope, will continue.
For as long as I can remember the 25 April mean’t Mum baking Anzac biscuits and watching the Anzac Day Parade in Sydney from 9.00am until lunchtime.

As a child I watched groups of Boer War veterans march, then later ride, in taxi’s in the parade. Large groups of WWI veterans paraded. WW2 veterans were there in force.

As a teenager I watched three veterans from the Boer War (1899-1901) be driven down George Street. My Great Great Grandfather William Butler had fought in that war and his uniform is now in the National War Memorial in Canberra.
There are no Boer War veterans left now.

In my 20’s I watched, lump in throat, as several WWI veterans paraded. One old man marched stiffly, but proudly, in his uniform. Two brothers, veterans of the ‘Lighthorse’ rode on horseback to the sheer delight of the crowds wearing their famous hats with the feathers. The rest, a small group from WWI, travelled the route in taxis waving at the crowds.

Over the next few years that old man no longer appeared to march in his uniform. Those two brothers rode their horses one year, they didn’t the next. And the taxis carrying those old men from places like Gallipolli, Egypt, The Somme, The Western Front, carried fewer old men.
The veterans from WW2 marched in force. As did the vets from Korea. And, thank god, those men who had been to Vietnam.

As the 90’s moved along the ranks of the old men remaining from 1914-1918 grew thinner. Now, none are left today..
Today, in 2007, we watch those from WW2 carry on the tradition. And those from the Korean war (1952), Vietnam, The Gulf War (1991), and, today. Unfortunately, we are still sending young men to war in 2007.

We thank all of them. The soldiers, the nurses, the doctors, the journalists, the sailors, the airmen and airwomen. And, of course, the drivers of those taxi’s who year after year make it possible for those veterans to take part in this important day.

Wouldn’t it be great though if we only had to commemorate past wars, and not the new ones.

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