ANZAC Day 2020

Any ANZAC Day is worth reflecting on, but it seems this will be one that for years to come we will look back on with mixed feelings. ANZAC Day is traditionally a time of coming together, gathering en masse to commemorate those who have lost their lives in service to their country and its citizens; and celebrate those who have served and are still with us, and those who continue to serve. It is also a time for reflection about some serious errors of judgement in the past - such as unequal treatment of returning First Nations people who served in war; and the less than desirable treatment of some soldiers returning from the Vietnam War - to ensure these mistakes are not repeated. Not to mention the reported ongoing mental health issues and high suicide rates of returning service men and women still, no doubt along with other issues.

For many Australians ANZAC Day resonates deeply and personally. In my family, generations have served in the armed forces and seen active duty. Dad is a Vietnam Vet who served for decades with the Royal Australian Engineers. His father was a WWII Vet who served with 2/4 Batallion, 2nd AIF. Dad's grandfather saw active duty with the NSW Mounted Rifles in the Boer War, and  the 17th Battalion AIF in WWI, and is buried in Peronne, a commune of the Somme in France, where he lost his life in battle in Mont. St. Quentin. My brother has served in the Solomon Islands and Timor Leste with the AFP's Protective Services, and my 2nd cousin has served in Iraq and Afghanistan in the army. These are just some of the family members who have seen active duty, with many of Mum's and Dad's uncles also serving in WWII and others, like Mum's father, supporting this service working in essential industries.

4 generations of service

correspondence sent to my father's grandmother about the circumstances surrounding his grandfather's identification first as MIA, then confirmed KIA in France in 1918

ANZAC Day in 2020 looked so different from any other ANZAC Day. Usually people around the country gather together on the anniversary of the Gallipoli landing in 1915, for local dawn services to commemorate service men and women who sacrificed their lives; to watch the parade of retired or currently serving people, and relatives of those passed; and many follow up with an afternoon at the RSL club hearing stories of service over a beer, and playing two up. This year COVID-19 confined us to our homes, our balconies, our driveways - and this was how we commemorated. It was sad not to be able to come together, but it also highlighted the ongoing spirit that surrounds ANZAC Day, with media and social media showing scenes all day from around the country of people showing up however and wherever they could.

candles on the balcony for the dawn service

the neighbourhood turning out for the dawn service, exercising requisite physical distancing

and some more

I woke early, switched on the telly and watched in wonder as the Brisbane service occurred, a solemn and lonely affair with the Premier and just a small handful of servicemen and others in attendance. I joined Allana on her balcony, and as the procession of speeches, prayers, hymns and wreath laying ceremonies occured at the National service on telly in the background, people gathered in our neighbourhood on the street, on their balconies, on the river. It was clear that many more who we couldn't see across the neighbourhood were commemorating, when the Last Post rang out from a range of locations and directions across the silence of the dawn, with slight variations in timing.

It would have been particularly disappointing for my Dad, these circumstances transpiring this year. Most years he and Mum, together with some long standing veteran friends, travel to different locations each year to attend a dawn service, most often in a regional town somewhere. But this year the Royal Australian Engineers had planned a reunion, and he was expecting to commemorate ANZAC Day with some veterans with whom he'd served, and who he hasn't seen for decades. Some were going to stick around for a week and they were going to spend time catching up and doing some proper remembering. Unfortunately, COVID-19 put the kibosh on this plan. Fingers crossed the planets align and all of them are able to come together next year instead. Damn this stupid virus!! But hail the human and Australian spirit...

Mum's hand made poppy for the mailbox

commemorating from balconies

...and the street

City Cat

And some photos from the Centenary community - Linda

 

Lots of chalked driveways