We pause today to remember all of those who gave their lives in war. Soldiers, sailors, airmen, civilians and more. We pause to remember lives cut short. Today, at 11am on the 11th of November is the anniversary of end of World War One in 1918. An anniversary of the first conflict where war truly became industrialised. Where weapons more than men had the advantage on the battlefield and a few could now kill so many thanks to the power of modern weapons.
The Australian landings at Gallipoli in 1915 are largely credited with giving ‘birth’ to Australia as a nation. They marked the beginning of a commitment of 313,814 Australians to the war of which around 53,000 died in France and Belgium alone. 152,171 were also wounded in this theatre as well, so the impacts on a young nation were marked.
It is not only the past the we remember today, it is also the ongoing service of those that protect us today. Not just soldier, sailor and airmen but emergency workers and more. Their service, like their forbearers, stands as a shining beacon of what can be achieved with the service to others. We don’t honour the methods or the reasons, we honour those that chose to serve. Those that put themselves in harms way for others. Those who were asked to perform a duty for others and did so without question, with many paying the ultimate price.
This is why we remember them. This is why we today pause and say:
Lest We Forget
for there would be nothing more tragic or disrespectful than to neglect to say ‘thank you’ to those that made our world a better place to be and gave us the opportunity to enjoy it. If nothing else, we owe them that. So today, take a moment to pause, reflect, say thank you and hopefully ask how you can make the world a better place in some small way as a way of honouring those who did not return because, sadly, there are still those suffering.
For more information on the Australian battlefields of World War One wish my website www.anzacsinfrance.com.
CIAOPS 