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Australia and New Zealand commemorates ANZAC Day on April 25th each year. It is our secular "holiest" day. The day commemorates the sacrifice of troops of the combined Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) in World War One and of Australians and New Zealanders who fought in all later wars (including some being waged right now).
The following are songs and photos I've put together to remember them.
This great song And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda by Eric Bogle is about the life of a digger wounded at Gallipoli.
There is a myth that true Anzacs were and are all front line infantry. Some other occupations were more dangerous than infantry. Pilots and aircrew often suffered the highest casualties of any service. Sailors, in particular submariners, were often in great danger both from the enemy and also from accidents. Here is the Navy Hymn for Submariners.
The hymn Abide With Me is traditionally sung at ANZAC Day services. The singer is Hayley Westernra from Christchurch, New Zealand.
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Iconic Vietnam War photo by Michael Coleridge. Diggers of 5 Platoon, B Company, 7RAR, waiting for Iroquois helicopters to land and take them back to Nui Dat at the end of an operation.
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The song I Was Only 19 (by that under-appreciated Australian group Redgum) is in memory of Australians who fought, died and were injured in Vietnam (early 1960s to 1972).
I think Eric Bogle’s The Green Fields of France or No Man’s Land (above) is the best anti-war song ever written. As a haunting poem, march, song of love and injustice it is a fitting anthem to remember the men and women, living and dead, who are our Anzacs.
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