Despite some damp comments by a few British posters ( that wouldn't surprise the veterans ) I think it's a tribute to Australians the length many go to pay their respects to our ANZAC fallen. It doesn't go unnoticed by other nations too- the Turkish are full of praise.
On behaviour, it's all personal I suppose, and none the too stuffy and who knows how you will react after travelling so far. I saw an middle aged lady scull a beer on the Burma Railway as a tribute to those who fell. Also, amusingly, a young lady at the Long Tanh memorial burst into tears with local Vietnamese following suite believing the girl's father buried beneath the memorial.
Anyways, this ANZAC Day a tough buildup for me. I'm off to Sandakan to do the walk to Ranau. The route has been meticulously mapped out by Lynette Silver using translated Japanese records and post war burial parties notes.
" Of the 2434 prisoners incarcerated at Sandakan, 1787 were Australian. The remaining 641 were British. The six Australians who escaped were the sole survivors. The rest were annihilated".
Lest We Forget
Last edited by Gnadenburg; 21st April 2007 at 09:12.