Monday, April 25, 2011

ANZAC Day 2011...

Today in New Zealand and Australia it is Anzac Day ( Australia New Zealand Army Corps) this is the day that the two nations remember those who were killed in "The Great War" WWI and in WWII.
Together with these two World Wars there were those who were killed in the Korean War, Vietnam War, and in Malaya. More recently both New Zealand and Australia mourn our young men who have been killed in Afghanistan.

For us as a family we remember Phil's grandfather, Philip Dunn who served in both the First World War and the Second World War, and returned home to his family.

We remember Phil's dad, another Philip,  "Pop" to us and to his grandchildren and "ChaCha" to his great grandchildren. Pop served in the Merchant Navy, he was not with us this year as he is in hospital recovering from an operation.

This was taken on Anzac Day 2010. Today we attended the Anzac Day service here in Waiuku on Pop's behalf and to personally pay our respects.








For myself it is a time for me to remember the uncle that I never knew. My Uncle Ivan fought in the local resistance in what was then called Yugoslavia and was killed at the tender age of 18.

It was so good to see the number of young people attending the service representing our local schools, navy cadets, girl guides and boy scouts. It is nice to know that they will carry on the Anzac Day traditions in years to come.

6 comments:

Dorothy

Good Morning,
I've missed being on blogger during Lent and glad to be back.
These are nice pictures and it's so important that we remember and honor those who gave their time and their lives for freedom.

Evette Mendisabal

I'm so glad there were young ones there to remember and carry on the traditions. It seems that the younger generation doesn't put too much stock in memorials like these. How sad it is that we have to memorialise men and women from our generation too, and that our children's children will have to carry it on. Without sounding too cliche ... I hope for world peace!

Melissa

Great post Angela.
I miss it, being all the way over here you know and we used to be there for it every year.
My sister will get her kids up at 5 or 6am and take them to the local place in Tok to help them remember.
I admire her for that.
We can't forget, it's the least we can do.
I hope his recovery from the op. is quick and he heals fast.

Kay L. Davies

Thank you for this beautiful post, Angela.
My father was in WWII and his father was in WWI. I hope we never forget.
In Canada, we have Remembrance Day in November, and it is obvious now that we are losing most of our WWII veterans. We recently lost the last of our WWI vets.
We recently visited the cemetery in Dieppe, France, where hundreds of Canadians were buried after a failed campaign in WWII. When I saw a row of graves marked "Name Unknown" I cried, but then my husband pointed out another row of crosses saying "Buried elsewhere in this cemetery" so I knew these men were not forgotten.
-- K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

Anonymous

Fantastic post mum!! It's a very strange feeling of sadness with a hint of pride.

cathycan

I loved your post!
Every fallen soldier had someone who loved them. They had a mother, wife, father, siblings... even our enemies are loved by someone who grieves for them.
You said it so wonderfully, so many have sacrificed.

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