Anzac day

[TJ]

What does it mean to you all out there?

Ill be honest, im a first generation Australian, my relatives didnt fight in any wars representing Australia. And while i totally understand the day, i struggle to relate to it.

I spose i thank those who gave thier lives so we could live in such a wonderful country.

Im sure many of you have relatives who have served / are serving, who would be able to express more openly how this day makes you feel.

[RGVFAST]

means heaps to me

these guys where fighting in middle of ****n no where, most of them time, in countries they had never been too before and didnt even speak the langauge to protect people they didnt even know

i have no doubt if there was invaiding forces threating australia eveyrone would step up, but how many australians these days would go fight in a county half the world away, for people they r most likely never going to meet.

the old diggers have nothign but my respect and its a pity we have lost so many in recent years due to age and sickness since i dont think there will ever be that breed of australian again

lest we forget

[ReaperSS]

Means alot to me aswell. My pop went to darwin to fight against the japs and im sure all of us had grandperants or family that went to war .
We all wouldnt be able to be free without the men and women who went to war (hell) to give us freedom. Some of the stuff soldiers went through as p.o.w 's and all the other stuff was something no one should go through.
Allways brings a tear to my eye and chokes me up watching some of the gallipoli doco's and seeing virtually kids fighting for us,some as young as 16.
As RGVFAST said, i couldnt see many people fighting face to face in a war zone these days

Ultimate respect to all people involed in ww1 and ww2 and any other wars we are involved or were involved in....... At the going down of the sun we will remember them..... LEST WE FORGET

[Twe12ve]

patriotism is good. Respect the people who fought for you. i too am first gen Aussie - and the reason i am first gen aussie is because these people fought for us. respect.

[ED40]

Nice thread TJ.

Respect,
Thanks for making this country what it is guys.
RIP

[muniom]

virtually kids fighting for us,some as young as 16.

yea fukn oath, from what i've heard it wasnt unusual for guys to lie about their age so they could go fight for our country. True patriotism! We are forever in debt :)

[ReaperSS]

yea fukn oath, from what i've heard it wasnt unusual for guys to lie about their age so they could go fight for our country. True patriotism! We are forever in debt :)

Very true! My pop lied to get in to fight and was kicked out when his mum (my great grandma) told the relevent people and he was sent home.

[woof]

Sorry but loosing ones life for other people war is pain idiotic, no different than today, we got diggers in Iraqi for the policies of another idiot and a week as piss primer minister. We should give a message to the fooking politicians on Anzac day .. wars never fixed anything…! :boink:

[Twe12ve]

you ****ing jerkoff. whilst i dont agree inherantly in violence what they did is nothing short of heroic.

War never fixed anything? the war of independence against slavery? Vietnam war? When hitler started invading poland and Europe what happened if US and UK didnt step in? wed all be saluting kaisers by now!

in utopia, there would be no war - however we live in the real world, and to those that lost their lives so that i could be born in Oz - to you i salute. Lest we forget.

[ReaperSS]

you ****ing jerkoff. whilst i dont agree inherantly in violence what they did is nothing short of heroic.

War never fixed anything? the war of independence against slavery? Vietnam war? When hitler started invading poland and Europe what happened if US and UK didnt step in? wed all be saluting kaisers by now!

in utopia, there would be no war - however we live in the real world, and to those that lost their lives so that i could be born in Oz - to you i salute. Lest we forget.


Perfectly said man :boink: !!!

So true! We would be speaking japanese or have swastikas on every thing or be gassed in chambers if we werent blonde haired with blue eyes.

[Lozzle]

the old diggers have nothign but my respect and its a pity we have lost so many in recent years due to age and sickness since i dont think there will ever be that breed of australian again

Totally agree. 6th gen Aussie here so pop n grandpa(rip) were definately involved. Lest we forget!

[TJ]

Sorry but loosing ones life for other people war is pain idiotic, no different than today, we got diggers in Iraqi for the policies of another idiot and a week as piss primer minister. We should give a message to the fooking politicians on Anzac day .. wars never fixed anything…! :boink:


Wars dont fix anything ......

WW1 stopped us from all speaking German, Austrian or Turkish

WW2 stopped us all from speaking Japanese , German or Italian.

WW1 and 2 certainly did not have anything to do with politics like it does now , sure it was political too, but not to satisfy a small minority - the world was in danger of being overrun by evil forces, and it was time to stand up and be counted. Many thousands of men and women stood up to be counted, and many thousands of men and women did not come home. A entire generation of people where affected , and it changed the face of the earth.

I can relate to WW2, my grandfather fought against the Germans and Croatians in Serbia. He got caught, and spent 4 years in a POW camp. Apparently it changed him, when he came home he was a changed man, a empty shell of what he was. Shortly after my dad was born he died. It affected me 40 odd years down the line, and I wasnt even born then.

To have such an opinion is pretty pathetic imho, and its pretty disrespectful to those who died.

[woof]

Wars dont fix anything ......

WW1 stopped us from all speaking German, Austrian or Turkish

WW2 stopped us all from speaking Japanese , German or Italian.

WW1 and 2 certainly did not have anything to do with politics like it does now , sure it was political too, but not to satisfy a small minority - the world was in danger of being overrun by evil forces, and it was time to stand up and be counted. Many thousands of men and women stood up to be counted, and many thousands of men and women did not come home. A entire generation of people where affected , and it changed the face of the earth.

I can relate to WW2, my grandfather fought against the Germans and Croatians in Serbia. He got caught, and spent 4 years in a POW camp. Apparently it changed him, when he came home he was a changed man, a empty shell of what he was. Shortly after my dad was born he died. It affected me 40 odd years down the line, and I wasnt even born then.

To have such an opinion is pretty pathetic imho, and its pretty disrespectful to those who died.

With all due respect, all wars and without exception are politically/religiously and financially motivated and loosing ones life for that is not right in any straight thinking mind. Going to Turkey (Anzac) and get slaughtered at the command of an inept pom general at the orders of another imbecile sitting on a leather chair in the UK is not heroisms but plain collective stupidity. Those survivors should have sued the entire height command for crimes against their own people. Sadly, Australia, still has a brown nosed lying creep (Howard) dancing to the tune of the US and the UK, and one day we will all paid the price for that. If you look back only a few years ago, Australian soldiers were killed at the Kokoda Trail ,not many survived thanks to an arrogant US General (Mc Arthur) while playing Golf in Melbourne wouldn’t spare A DC3 to rescued those soldiers. There be NO wars if the ones initiating it had to go to war…I am for peace… regardless :boink:

[TJ]

You may be for peace, but you have no right to trash the memories of those who fought simply because you dont like it.

I dont like war either, but i respect everything they did. Takes alot of balls to stare death in the face knowing very well your most likely not going to walk away.

[woof]

you ****ing jerkoff. whilst i dont agree inherantly in violence what they did is nothing short of heroic.

War never fixed anything? the war of independence against slavery? Vietnam war? When hitler started invading poland and Europe what happened if US and UK didnt step in? wed all be saluting kaisers by now!

in utopia, there would be no war - however we live in the real world, and to those that lost their lives so that i could be born in Oz - to you i salute. Lest we forget.

The war of independence against slavery? Lol... what kind of juice are you on toady..?

Vietnam ..? Get real, total loss for the US and their lackeys, Australian included.

Hitler invaded Europe with the benevolence and cooperation from the US, just in case you missed that one. We must mention too, that after Hitler, the US,UK and the Russians did the same as Hitler, they partitioned half of Europe and the Middle East giving the Jews what doesn’t belong to them. Sure , Lets We Forget, why then bring it up every year..? In the real world , we the citizens should dictate our future and wellbeing and not leave it to corrupt and lying politicians hijacking our minds and future for the sake politics…. :asshole:

[CORDIAL]

Lets We Forget, why then bring it up every year..?

its actually "Lest we Forget" and loosely means "lets us not forget" as in.. lets not forget what these men and women did so we can live in an Australia that we live in today. Thats why we bring it up every year.

[wadragracing]

Woof, its about Anzac Day, not about your lefty "I hate everything American cause it's the cool thing to do" rants.

However you said it best:

"we the citizens should dictate our future and wellbeing and not leave it to corrupt and lying politicians hijacking our minds and future for the sake politics"

40,000 thousand people would have gone to Kings Park at 5:00am this morning. Thousands more did the same around the country. They, the citizens, did indeed dictate their future.

You said ";Sorry but loosing ones life for other people war is pain idiotic".

Many of these people did not have any idea what they were getting into, but were brave in the course of their action. As for you, I think the level of grammar and spelling in your posts indicates the type of intelligence you possess.

[gazza750]

to me anzac day means a lot . my grandfather fought in ww1 (underage he lied lol)my father served in vietnam while i was a small child and when he came home he was a totally different person while i agree war is evil itself that is not the foot soldiers fault my father never had a choice he was conscripted (ie: his birthday was pulled out of a hat ) so he had no choice but to serve his country ANZAC day is a day of reflection for many australians to just sit back and think what would this country be like today if people like my grandfather and father had not served their country
i think this poem below sums it up for me
Banjo Paterson wrote as an open letter to the troops in 1915 a poem he titled "We're All Australians Now"

Australia takes her pen in hand,
To write a line to you,
To let you fellows understand,
How proud we are of you.

From shearing shed and cattle run,
From Broome to Hobsons Bay,
Each native-born Australian son,
stands straighter up today.

The man who used to "hump his drum",
On far-out Queensland runs,
Is fighting side by side with some
Tasmanian farmer's sons.

The fisher-boys dropped sail and oar
To grimly stand the test,
Along that storm-swept Turkish shore,
With miners from the west.
The old state jealousies of yore
Are dead as Pharaoh's sow,
We're not State children any more
We're all Australians now!

Our six-starred flag that used to fly,
Half-shyly to the breeze,
Unknown where older nations ply
Their trade on foreign seas,

Flies out to meet the morning blue
With Vict'ry at the prow;
For that's the flag the Sydney flew,
The wide seas know it now!

The mettle that a race can show
Is proved with shot and steel,
And now we know what nations know
And feel what nations feel.

The honoured graves beneath the crest
Of Gaba Tepe hill,
May hold our bravest and our best,
But we have brave men still.

With all our petty quarrels done,
Dissensions overthrown,
We have, through what you boys have done,
A history of our own.

Our old world diff'rences are dead,
Like weeds beneath the plough,
For English, Scotch, and Irish-bred,
They're all Australians now!

So now we'll toast the Third Brigade,
That led Australia's van,
For never shall their glory fade
In minds Australian.

Fight on, fight on, unflinchingly,
Till right and justice reign.
Fight on, fight on, till Victory
Shall send you home again.

And with Australia's flag shall fly
A spray of wattle bough,
To symbolise our unity,
We're all Australians now.

[evil_weevil]

Lest We forget.

Im a first generation aussie too, my oldies are pommies and both grandperants were in wars.

Older generations gave their lives for us, I will always thank them for giving us this country.

[Mike_Hunt]

What unfortunate twats like Woof miss is the fact that Anzac Day doesn't attempt to glorify war in any way shape or form - it purely functions as a sombre day of reflection to remember the sacrifice that many young ordinary men & women made to defend their idea of a free world for themselves & future generations. To bring comments about Howard & bush into it is ridiculous because they have nothing to do with what Anzac Day is about. War can be stupid, senseless but the sad fact is it is sometimes necessary - maybe not some of the current conflicts you see occuring now but if we had all left Poland, France, the jews etc. to Hitler or let the Japanese continue swallowing up the pacific what would the world be like today? I don't feel I have to bring up some of the horrific things the Nazi's & the Japanese did either. My advice to you Woof is to go & watch the 'Kokoda" movie out now & think on it a bit after you see it & remember WW1 & WW2 happened in a time vastly different to what we are living in now. Leave the unrealistic anti-war leftist crap for another day of the year & let the rest of us honour these heroes on 'their' day.

Lest we forget.

[Lyoness]

Lest we forget!

Watching the movies, the parades and even reading this thread & seeing how much this day, these ppl mean to me & everyother australian out there brings tears to my eye's. My grandfather fought and returned yet I never did meet him. (RIP).

My father, myself and my brother used to march in the anzac day parades till the day the organisers didn't let kids march anymore, my father who is also a war veteran still wears his & his fathers medals & medalions on this day with full pride and respect for what these men & women did for us and for all australia! We salute you and your memory.

Damn I just made myself cry writing this.

[RICEY]

Respect to all those who fought for our freedom.

It's just a shame there isnt many of the old diggers left...

[MMM]

means i get a public holiday

[Sully]

my grandad had a feature in the paper on him the other day, he's the dude at the top of the front page, the bomber pilot. hence ANZAC day means a fair bit to me and family. i think its great that so many people still come out to pay respect en masse to those who did fight under the flag.

woof, you clearly have no understanding of the global situation during ww1 and 2. go do a bit of research. i would like to hear what your solution to the problems of the times would have been. i can't imagine hitler and co would have taken much notice of a lovely little negotiation party

[Twe12ve]

Woof, its about Anzac Day, not about your lefty "I hate everything American cause it's the cool thing to do" rants.



couldnt have said it better myself..

its now the in thing to embrace buddhism, hate war, hate multinational corporation love greenpeace blah blah blah blah

at the end of the day, the outcome of war can never be predicted and is not as important as the cause as to why war happened....

and if you dont think the war of independance was important, well that shows your knowledge of history then doesnt it.

[big o]

I was only 19

this song in it's original form is i think the best way to descibe what it would of been like going to war, think to your self what it would of been like, these men and women
were getting shot at till al hours of the night, contracting all kinds of diseases and not being feed until they could find shelter away from emeny fire. We complain when the fuel price is to high, hitting our knuckles on engine parts and getting the slighteset sniffle in the winter, boo hoo these poor bastards fighting in the wars are doin it for us.

So yes I'm very proud, read the lyrics of this song, it send a shiver up my spine every time a hear it

Mum and Dad and Denny saw the passing out parade at Puckapunyal
(1t was long march from cadets).
The sixth battalion was the next to tour and It was me who drew the card.
We did Canungra and Shoalwater before we left.


Chorus I:
And Townsville lined the footpath as we marched down to the quay.
This clipping from the paper shows us young and strong and clean.
And there's me in my slouch hat with my SLR and greens.
God help me, I was only nineteen.


From Vung Tau riding Chinooks to the dust at Nui Dat,
I'd been in and out of choppers now for months.
But we made our tents a home. V.B. and pinups on the lockers,
And an Asian orange sunset through the scrub.


Chorus 2:
And can you tell me, doctor, why I still can't get to sleep?
And night time's just a jungle dark and a barking M.16?
And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
God help me, I was only nineteen.


A four week operation, when each step can mean your last one
On two legs: it was a war within yourself.
But you wouldn't let your mates down 'til they had you dusted off,
So you closed your eyes and thought about something else.


Chorus 3:
Then someone yelled out "Contact"', and the bloke behind me swore.
We hooked in there for hours, then a God almighty roar.
Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moon.
God help me, he was going home in June.


1 can still see Frankie, drinking tinnies in the Grand Hotel
On a thirty-six hour rec. leave in Vung Tau.
And I can still hear Frankie, lying screaming in the jungle.
'Till the morphine came and killed the bloody row


Chorus 4:
And the Anzac legends didn't mention mud and blood and tears.
And stories that my father told me never seemed quite real
I caught some pieces In my back that I didn't even feel.
God help me, I was only nineteen.


Chorus 5:
And can you tell me, doctor, why I still can't get to sleep?
And why the Channel Seven chopper chills me to my feet?
And what's this rash that comes and goes, can you tell me what it means?
God help me, I was only nineteen.

[ReaperSS]

I heard this song on the way fishing 7.00am anzac day, definatly put a lump in my throat. Perfect anzac day song!

[Lord_Muck]

Ross i think ur forgetting we did get bombed dude, in Darwin. Was on A WORLD AROUND US on the weekend, some interesting facts and crashed planes they found in the area, aswell as jap rifles and the like scattered through the bush.

[Wezz]

Eric Bogle - And the band played Waltzing Matilda.

Now when I was a young man I carried my pack
And lived the free life of the rover
From the Murray's Green Basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my Matilda all over
Then in 1915 my country said "Son,
It's time you stopped rambling, there's work to be done."
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they marched me away to the war

And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As the ship pulled away from the quay
And amidst all the cheers, flag waving and tears
We sailed off for Gallipoli

And how well I remember that terrible day
How our blood stained the sand and the water
And of how in that hell that they called Souvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
'Johnny Turk' he was ready, he'd primed himself well
He rained us with bullets and he showered us with shell
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia

And the band played Waltzing Matilda
While we stopped to bury our slain
We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then it started all over again

And those that were left, well we tried to survive
In that mad world of death, blood and fire
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
Though around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse-over-head
And when I awoke in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, well, I wished I was dead
Never knew there was worse things than dying

For I'll go no more waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush far and free
For to hump tent and pegs a man needs both legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me

So, they collected the wounded, the crippled, the maimed
And shipped us back home to Australia
The legless, the armless, the blind, the insane
The proud, wounded heroes of Souvla
And when our ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where my legs used to be
And thanked Christ there was no one there waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity

But the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared
Then they turned all their faces away

So now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving old dreams and past glories
And the old men march slowly, old bones stiff and sore
They're tired old heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question

But the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer the call
But as year follows year, more old men disappear
Some day no one will march there at all

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll go a'waltzing Matilda with me?
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by that billabong
Who'll come a'waltzing Matilda with me?

[_elite76_]

means heaps to me

these guys where fighting in middle of ****n no where, most of them time, in countries they had never been too before and didnt even speak the langauge to protect people they didnt even know

i have no doubt if there was invaiding forces threating australia eveyrone would step up, but how many australians these days would go fight in a county half the world away, for people they r most likely never going to meet.

the old diggers have nothign but my respect and its a pity we have lost so many in recent years due to age and sickness since i dont think there will ever be that breed of australian again

lest we forget

+1

[_elite76_]

The war of independence against slavery? Lol... what kind of juice are you on toady..?

Vietnam ..? Get real, total loss for the US and their lackeys, Australian included.

Hitler invaded Europe with the benevolence and cooperation from the US, just in case you missed that one. We must mention too, that after Hitler, the US,UK and the Russians did the same as Hitler, they partitioned half of Europe and the Middle East giving the Jews what doesn’t belong to them. Sure , Lets We Forget, why then bring it up every year..? In the real world , we the citizens should dictate our future and wellbeing and not leave it to corrupt and lying politicians hijacking our minds and future for the sake politics…. :asshole:

I wont disrespect the point of this good thread with argument, but its disappointing to see attitudes like this these days.

And thats all I have to say about that.

[woof]

What unfortunate twats like Woof miss is the fact that Anzac Day doesn't attempt to glorify war in any way shape or form - it purely functions as a sombre day of reflection to remember the sacrifice that many young ordinary men & women made to defend their idea of a free world for themselves & future generations. To bring comments about Howard & bush into it is ridiculous because they have nothing to do with what Anzac Day is about. War can be stupid, senseless but the sad fact is it is sometimes necessary - maybe not some of the current conflicts you see occuring now but if we had all left Poland, France, the jews etc. to Hitler or let the Japanese continue swallowing up the pacific what would the world be like today? I don't feel I have to bring up some of the horrific things the Nazi's & the Japanese did either. My advice to you Woof is to go & watch the 'Kokoda" movie out now & think on it a bit after you see it & remember WW1 & WW2 happened in a time vastly different to what we are living in now. Leave the unrealistic anti-war leftist crap for another day of the year & let the rest of us honour these heroes on 'their' day.

Lest we forget.

Ah,.....Anzac Day! Spit polish the polemic and shine the Strine, it's that one day of the year when the pollies can wrap their political agenda in patriotism and flog it hard; when the flag-waving and cheers temporarily overwhelm our bull**** detectors. Lest we forget John Howard's unctuous 2003 Anzac Day addres: "We give thanks for the safety of those who've recently taken part in the war in Iraq. They went in our name in a just cause to do good things to liberate a people."
Nice one John… How could we not support those who might die in our name without at least accepting their mission? Appropriating the Anzac ledgend was a triumph of political manipulation. Gallipoli, the jewel in the crown of Australian nationalism, is probably the only thing that could have sold our war. Unlike the Amercians, Australians have never gotten too excited about the founding of their nation. Afer all, there's not much glory in prison ships dropping anchor, not compared with the flower of Aussie manhood being mown down by machine guns. But does Anzac Day really remember the real servicemen and women who died, or are we simply celebrating our glorious faceless dead?

[woof]

You may be for peace, but you have no right to trash the memories of those who fought simply because you dont like it.

I dont like war either, but i respect everything they did. Takes alot of balls to stare death in the face knowing very well your most likely not going to walk away.

Why Do We Celebrate Failure? The human propensity to engage in warfare dates back to prehistory, and despite our modernity and cultural advances, seems just as ingrained in our behavioural code now as it ever was. So it should come as no surprise that war memorials are essential elements of any nation's fabric of self-identity. Yet one wonders, what purpose do such traditional acts of remembrance really have? If war is hell and to be avoided at all costs, it could be argued that elevating participation in war with remembrances, monuments, parades, holidays piss-up’s and whatnot serves only to celebrate the failure of non-violent solutions to conflict and of rational approaches to settling differences in opinion between peoples and the resultant carnage and suffering with which we are all too familiar. Alternatively, it could be argued that we must never allow ourselves to forget that war truly is hell, so that, in Santayana's words, we will not be one of "Those who forget the past -and- are doomed to repeat it." In closing Anzac should be " Lets don't do it again" .....!!! :boink:

[Lyoness]

nobody wants it to happen again but shunning the wrong in a terrible situation isn't going to help and with all due respect you don't have the right to tell us that the people who are family that went out & fought for us, the next generations not to be proud of them. It won't happen and in all seriousness you could have picked a better day and thread to voice that.

[woof]

nobody wants it to happen again but shunning the wrong in a terrible situation isn't going to help and with all due respect you don't have the right to tell us that the people who are family that went out & fought for us, the next generations not to be proud of them. It won't happen and in all seriousness you could have picked a better day and thread to voice that.


It is happening again right under our/your noses and nobody is saying and doing nothing. I suppose if one hundred diggers get killed in Iraq next year we will erect another monolith celebrating those fallen ones for the sake of liberating Australia.? Curiously, not one Australian citizen lost a life at the hands of Sadam nor then at the hands of the Turks. So… what the hell are we doing there, lets we forget..? Any day is good to point out the injustices of the bastards that suppose to lead us to a better and peacefully existence.

[TJ]

yeah but your doing it in a wrong place.

this is here to celebrate, to apprecaite, to reflect.

not to attack.

[TJ]

and its lest ffs!

[woof]

yeah but your doing it in a wrong place.

this is here to celebrate, to apprecaite, to reflect.

not to attack.

Wait.. not attacking anything merely pointing the sad facts of our history. One doesn’t celebrate dead nor can one appreciate it. Yes , we can reflect… perhaps in silence. :kiss:

[TJ]

you attack the memories of those involved by using this as some sort of political forum. was not the intended meaning of the thread i assure you.

one celebrates the herioc actions of many thousands of people who gave their lives because they thought it was the right thing to do. remember these people where not forced in most cases, they choose to go.

reflection in silence is the name of the game here. hence the silence moments at the services.

if you feel so strongly about this perhaps start another thread about how much our government sucks etc etc im a hippie who hates war, they are all against me etc etc.

you will no longer be doing it in this one, as i and im sure the vast majority agree it isnt time and place.