Anzac Day - 2008

the ode

they shall not grow old

as we that are left grow old

age shall not weary them

nor the years condemn.

at the going down of the sun

and in the morning

we will remember them.

lest we forget

amen - ((((((((( grace and ds and all who serve and have served ))))))))

I know I'm coming late to the thread but I, too, was thinking of all the Aussie and NZ armed forces who've fought for us, not just at Gallipoli but from the Boer War to today.

Especially as the country has lost yet another Australian son in Afghanistan...

"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side now here in this country of ours... you, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land. They have become our sons as well." Ataturk

Having worked at a repatriation hospital let me tell you that the tears are flowing freely on my face right now, even though it is the end of May. The words of Ataturk are heartfelt and demonstrate that man's humanity will always overcome the atrocities of war.

My tears flow on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day, and to have worked at that hospital on those days in particular really brings it home, personalises it all. To wake men at 4.30am in order to get them dressed and ready to attend the dawn service, in the most beautiful hospital chapel specifically dedicated to the services, is a privilege that will remain with me for life. To stand beside a patient during the minute's silence, to support them and honour them raises such strong emotions in me. Those men and women I am privileged enough to be nursing (even those that I could really do without!!) have experienced and witnessed things the like of which I will never know.

I have a particular interest in military nursing especially Boer War, WW1 and WW2 era rather than current day so that also hits home with me. I have been fortunate to have nursed a few war nurses, including one remarkable woman who had been taken prisoner in Singapore and lived the horrors of being a POW. When I met her the dementia had started although she was still clear on many things. By the end the dementia had really interfered with her life. Being confined to a nursing home would often cause her to be thrown back in time to being in the POW camp (doesnt say much for the image of aged care). When she died I was given a copy of her war diary by her family. Nothing elaborate, just simple stuff which hits home because of its simplicity.

Anyway, you get the drift! Thankyou for this thread.