ANZAC day today
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ANZAC day today
Today is a public holiday in Australia and New Zealand to remember all those who fought and died in wars. 80000 Anzacs died in WWI, 50000 in WWII.
Lest we forget.....
Lest we forget.....
Join Date: Sep 2006
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467/463 Sqn Assn will be at Waddington today. Their day starts at the memorial in Waddington Village at 1100. The BBMF Lancaster should be flying over the Sqn memorials at RAF Waddington at 1200 (weather permitting).
During a det to Incirlik in 1996, I took my mid-term RnR to Gallipoli, and was fortunate to coincide it with ANZAC Day. It was a very moving experience, particularly standing in the cemetery at ANZAC Cove at about 0500, with the sun rising behind us, listening to the bugler sound the Last Post. I went to all the ceremonies throughout the day, and was particularly struck by how the Turks welcomed everyone and made no distinction between former friend or foe.
That is an interesting observation.
The Turkish flag was flown here on the Gold Coast today, I think for the first time. It is to show the Turks our appreciation for getting access over their sacred ground every year at this time for Gallipoli.
And there was a large Turkish contingent marching in Canberra. William was in attendance. I always love to see the South Vietnamese contingent - they really take it very seriously and march proudly, supported by striking women in cams and red berets!!
As usual, a fantastic Dawn Service here at the Runaway Bay cenotaph, supported so well again by the local Air Force Cadets squadron as the catafalque party.
The Turkish flag was flown here on the Gold Coast today, I think for the first time. It is to show the Turks our appreciation for getting access over their sacred ground every year at this time for Gallipoli.
And there was a large Turkish contingent marching in Canberra. William was in attendance. I always love to see the South Vietnamese contingent - they really take it very seriously and march proudly, supported by striking women in cams and red berets!!
As usual, a fantastic Dawn Service here at the Runaway Bay cenotaph, supported so well again by the local Air Force Cadets squadron as the catafalque party.
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We had an excellent Anzac march in Perth, with the crowds seemingly at steady levels of around 30,000+ every year. The WW2 vets are very thin on the ground, and the Vietnam Vets are looking very aged now. The cadets all largely look promising, and the Navy and AF boys and girls looked very spiffy.
Nearly didn't make the march - my partner I were booked on a reasonably tight schedule, to travel QF767 from BNE to PER and a vital crewmember called in sick at the last minute.
We weren't informed until right on the death knock, 10 mins before takeoff at 20:05HRS. We were informed a replacement crew had to drive in from Surfers Paradise. That took nearly 2 hrs. Didn't get airborne until 22:40HRS (BNE time) and got into PER at 02:40HRS local time, after a smooth flight by the replacement crew. Thanks to those blokes who gave up their holiday time. Got a bit of shuteye and just made the start of the march-off through the city at 09:30HRS.
Can't whinge too much - a lot of blokes suffered much greater deprivation than delayed flights, and a shortage of shuteye, while defending the country from despots.
Interesting to see the varieties of people supporting ANZAC day - Vietnamese, Chinese, Nepalese, Koreans, Poles, Sikhs, you name the cultural variety, they were there.
We even had some real foreigners in the form of Kiwi and U.S. Veterans.
They all joined in the hymns, listened to the prayers, the local leaders speeches and the schoolkids singing, and waved Australian flags furiously - thus showing their support for the nation that gives them refuge from terrorism, and despots.
Of course, there was one group missing from all the ANZAC supporters - and we all know who that group is.
They have a tendency to take advantage of our easy-going culture, but prefer not to support it, and would rather introduce their own violent culture they brought with them.
We didn't miss them.
Nearly didn't make the march - my partner I were booked on a reasonably tight schedule, to travel QF767 from BNE to PER and a vital crewmember called in sick at the last minute.
We weren't informed until right on the death knock, 10 mins before takeoff at 20:05HRS. We were informed a replacement crew had to drive in from Surfers Paradise. That took nearly 2 hrs. Didn't get airborne until 22:40HRS (BNE time) and got into PER at 02:40HRS local time, after a smooth flight by the replacement crew. Thanks to those blokes who gave up their holiday time. Got a bit of shuteye and just made the start of the march-off through the city at 09:30HRS.
Can't whinge too much - a lot of blokes suffered much greater deprivation than delayed flights, and a shortage of shuteye, while defending the country from despots.
Interesting to see the varieties of people supporting ANZAC day - Vietnamese, Chinese, Nepalese, Koreans, Poles, Sikhs, you name the cultural variety, they were there.
We even had some real foreigners in the form of Kiwi and U.S. Veterans.
They all joined in the hymns, listened to the prayers, the local leaders speeches and the schoolkids singing, and waved Australian flags furiously - thus showing their support for the nation that gives them refuge from terrorism, and despots.
Of course, there was one group missing from all the ANZAC supporters - and we all know who that group is.
They have a tendency to take advantage of our easy-going culture, but prefer not to support it, and would rather introduce their own violent culture they brought with them.
We didn't miss them.
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Remembering "The Doc"
Squadron Leader Paul McCarthy (1974 - 2005) RAAF Pearce medical officer killed during relief mission on Nias Island, Indonesia.
The 'Willy-town' dim sim champion is not forgotten and his cross stands proud in the Avon Valley remote SAR training area.
The 'Willy-town' dim sim champion is not forgotten and his cross stands proud in the Avon Valley remote SAR training area.
As it is ANZAC Day, I will relate a story about flying Canberras over 40 years ago in the Vietnam War. I thought I may have told this story before on this forum, but maybe not.
I will quote this from an interview I did in "Vietnam" magazine, December 1994. It was a bombing mission under FAC control in the south delta part of Vietnam, an area known as IV Corps:
I had a funny experience one day [probably early 1970] with a bombsight. The gyro that stabilised the collimator glass had gone pear-shaped. I had to manually force the glass to the horizontal, eyeballing the horizon. I told the USAF FAC, "We've got a U/S bombsight, but we should be OK." (U/S of course being our abbreviation for unserviceable.) The FAC acknowledged with a query in his voice. On the attack, my first bomb of the stick was right on his smoke. Pure arse! The FAC came back, "Hey, those American bombsights are real good!"
Talk about laugh!! It is good to remember funny times from operational experiences.
I will quote this from an interview I did in "Vietnam" magazine, December 1994. It was a bombing mission under FAC control in the south delta part of Vietnam, an area known as IV Corps:
I had a funny experience one day [probably early 1970] with a bombsight. The gyro that stabilised the collimator glass had gone pear-shaped. I had to manually force the glass to the horizontal, eyeballing the horizon. I told the USAF FAC, "We've got a U/S bombsight, but we should be OK." (U/S of course being our abbreviation for unserviceable.) The FAC acknowledged with a query in his voice. On the attack, my first bomb of the stick was right on his smoke. Pure arse! The FAC came back, "Hey, those American bombsights are real good!"
Talk about laugh!! It is good to remember funny times from operational experiences.
Lest we forget.
I'm of an age where I've known two Anzacs, one a schoolteacher and one the grandfather of my first girlfriend, and had a passing acquaintance with a third. They all spoke of their respect for the Turks, and the privations both sides endured.
The schoolteacher was an amazing artist, and would illustrate his Anzac talks with detailed chalk drawings. The girlfriend's grandfather had a bullet crease across the top of his head, but seemed to have no physical or emotional problems. I'm sure I would have, having come that close.
I'm of an age where I've known two Anzacs, one a schoolteacher and one the grandfather of my first girlfriend, and had a passing acquaintance with a third. They all spoke of their respect for the Turks, and the privations both sides endured.
The schoolteacher was an amazing artist, and would illustrate his Anzac talks with detailed chalk drawings. The girlfriend's grandfather had a bullet crease across the top of his head, but seemed to have no physical or emotional problems. I'm sure I would have, having come that close.
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Got to remember to join up to do it.
Not YET been to NZ or Oz but have relatives / friends there.
Given that I spend time at WW1 sites then really not that hard to take some photos and remember those who paid ultimate price.
Got to remember to join up to do it.
Not YET been to NZ or Oz but have relatives / friends there.
Given that I spend time at WW1 sites then really not that hard to take some photos and remember those who paid ultimate price.
