These are the real Heroes: Anzac Day. Lest we forget.

[Pinky the pilot]

The term Hero is much misused these days! I get quite irate when I see so called sportsmen described as heroes by an ignorant media and a just as ignorant public.

Well, these are my Heroes. The Men, and occasionally Women who when their Country called, volunteered in their thousands to fight in sometimes shocking conditions, many of whom paid the supreme sacrifice.

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i319/Pinkythepilot/DadandCrew.jpg[/IMG]


Back Row. A Shaw;Gunner. Paddy Kelly;2nd Engineer. B Dickenson;1st W/Op. R Linnett;WOp.

Front Row. J Robinson; Gunner. R Duddleston;Navigator. L Gilmore; Captain. R Baum; Pilot. N Thomson; WOp.

Absent. W Kingsley; 1st Engineer.

In memory of 39814 WO1. Baum; Ronald Wilhelm. Pilot 461 Sqn (Coastal Command. Sunderland Flying Boats) RAAF. Based Pembroke Dock. Wales UK.

He was my Dad, and I miss him!

[Mr Bomb]

Lest we forget

[Capt Wally]

Pinky yr dad hasn't really gone, he lives on in yr heart & the many thousands that he & others indirectly saved, even if they don't know it !

Heros don't know they are, sports people think they are!

Terrific photo, reminds me of my ATC (Air Training Corps in 4th flight nth Melb) days when I was just 14! Was told by a flt sergent one night whilst on parade with most of us standing there freezing with our arms folded that only pregnant women & prostitues fold their arms, to this day I can still remember that statement & to 14 yr olds it was a shock!:bored:


CW

[SOTV]

Last year I had the privilege of visiting Gallipoli and spent a few days walking the beaches and trench lines. Anzac cove was a very poignant place to visit. The cemeteries are very well tended and peaceful.

More power to you all.

[tipsy2]

Let us also remember there are men and women of the ADF currently doing their stuff on our behalf and often in dangerous situations.

Thanks fellas and girls:ok:

tipsy
ex green machine

[StrutlessDrKiller]

Great post Pinky!

My father (on the far right) was 19 when he joined 459 Squadron in the Middle East, as a wireless operator/air gunner. He saw service in Hudsons, Venturas and Baltimores on maritime surveillance and bombing operations around the Mediteranean.

http://www.fototime.com/8E26FF77F4986E4/standard.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/17624F54DFA0ED7/standard.jpg

Dr

PS: Reading some of the notations in his logbook make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up!

[Stationair8]

Real Hero's they got the job done whatever it was, and then came home and went back to work and got one with life.

Anzac day is their and they deserve it.

[redsnail]

It's really funny, in the UK they seem to push these things aside. They do have Poppy day which is Nov 11. Personally, calling it "Poppy Day" demeans it. It's Remembrance Day!! Anzac Day is remembered by a march through London to the Cenotaph. However, not much is mentioned on tv.

The Turks and the French are amazed at how the Aussies and Kiwis trek to Gallipoli and to the sites in France and Belgium (Flanders) to pay respects. The Turkish people that I have met respect and honour those who fell and who are buried on their soil.

There are towns in France (http://www.anzac2008-france.com/?gclid=CPSa5_eD55ICFQtnQgodF0za3Q) that have never forgotten what the Anzacs did in WW1 and WW2 in liberating them from their unwelcome invaders.

For an incredible story of courage and bravery, read about Nancy Wake (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Wake)

Lest we forget.

[Whitney]

This year it will be extra special for me. I'll give thanks that my significant other is here and healthy after being over there last year, and may in fact be sent back in a few months.

I'll remember and give my silent thanks to those from years ago who gave their all so that I could have the life I do.

LEST WE FORGET ..

[Flyingblind]

Good posts all,

LOL Capt Wally, that reminded me of my Army days during radio training when we had to learn to use the Phonetic alphabet when using Mil Radio, a very pissed of Corporal would come up to a student and below "Don't so oh....say bloody Zero!.....only Fag*&s and Sailors say oh!"

Well said Pinky the Pilot regarding currant media and sports stars!






Your not alone for those that miss their dads.

[airtags]

good stuff - & thanks

My Dad is still around, although now well retired to the task of fishing from tinny -

He's decided to take part in the march this year for the very first time
- and after decades under lock and key, never opened - he actually pulled the old trunk out of his garage loft the other day. Apparently it's full of photos, film reels and other stuff he shot while flying - Hope I get to sit down with him one day and see and hear the stories -

PS: He likes the edge of the zone on Botany Bay - (probably more for the plane spotting than fishing I suspect) - If you're inbound give him a wave!

[ampan]

That's a f*cking brilliant thread, Pinky. Even got me slightly teary-eyed.

Various cloth-eared dickheads crap on about "societal norms", blah, blah, blah - as if these guys never appreciated that they might die. What a load of complete f*cking b*llocks!! They all knew they might die. Putting the sacrifice those guys made down to some sort of delusion is, in my opinion, completely outrageous.

[Pinky the pilot]

Thank you all who have responded in this thread.:ok:

Heros don't know they are, sports people think they are!


Capt Wally, You nailed it perfectly!:ok: And thanks for your kind words.

Fellow Ppruners may be interested to know that I have been contacted by a Pprune member whose Grandfather thinks he is one of the Men in the photograph of my Dad's crew! When we are certain of this, the appropriate information may be posted.

Any more photos out there?

And one thing about photographs of Aircrew in those days still amazes me....
They all look so bloody young!!!!:eek:
Maybe it's because they were!

[multime]

Dear Pinky

Truly great post. These were brave men, with responsibility beyond their years.
On Friday, I,ll be marching for my grandfather (ex Gallipolli).
Fortunately he came home.
Many didn,t

Congrats on a truely inspirational post

Regards
Multi

[Flying Binghi]

I have never worn a uniform - I consider this a freedom



I express my opinions freely and live my life without fear of oppression - yet another freedom.



I thank and remember the people who defended these freedoms - and my life.

[nomorecatering]

A PPRuNe thread is not supposed to make one cry. This one did!

[Hugh Jarse]

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i6/HugeArse/File0049.jpg
Dad (on right) going to sign up - 1941. 16y.o.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i6/HugeArse/File0045.jpg
A few nasties his unit caught (New Guinea c.1944)

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i6/HugeArse/File0050.jpg
Sailing from Morotai to Kure (Japan) 1946

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i6/HugeArse/hir_10.jpg
What they faced - Hiroshima 1946

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i6/HugeArse/File0047.jpg
Just prior to leaving Japan 1947

He and a lot of his mates did it pretty tough both while they were away, and in the years that followed. Anyone who grew up in an ex-WW2 serviceman household would appreciate what I mean.

Thanks to all the Vets :ok:

[Capt Wally]

ty 'Pinky' I bet yr dad was a great man, afterall he inspired you to start this great thread & yr heart/mind is an extension of him.:D

I feel so humble amongst the real heros that passed before me, ordinary folk who stood tall, proud & only went forth for one reason, their country, the country we live in now not for their personal gain. The people who run this country, pollies, CEO's & the likes (they like to think they do) could do well to take a leaf out of the 'pinky's dads of the past with courage & utter unselfishness.

'HJ' terrific addition, tnxs

CW:ok:

[Three_pointer]

We will be joining my father at the dawn service and march on Friday. He is 83 and still going strong. He was in 454 squadron on Martin Baltimores. His last flight at Villaorba in Italy was a fitting tribute.

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll292/pjmitch/BaltimoreBeatup.jpg?t=1208781212 (http://javascript<b></b>:void(0);)

cheers

[Nuthinondaclock]

That photo is just brilliant.:D

Thank you to all who posted their photos here and shared them with us. I'd love to see some more.

[capt.cynical]

I don't know who said this or if I even have it right,however it seems so appropriate.

"Such a breed of men,we are unlikely to see again":D

Attributes and corrections welcome.:)

[Walrus 7]

Pinky!

Your Dad was 461! My favourite squadron. I've read They Shall Not Pass Unseen so many times. Years ago I was very privileged one Anzac Day to meet a former 461 pilot who had been credited with sinking a U-boat. We talked Sunderlands for hours. It was, and always will be, my favourite Anzac Day memory.

We miss your father too ... we miss all of those who are gone.

Damn ... I've got something in my eye.

Walrus

TID EDIT

[Old Fella]

The low level "fly past" depicted on post #19 would not meet with the approval of Cathay Pacific management! This "old fart" will be there in the morning for the dawn service. A day we should never delete from the meaningful celebrations calendar. "Lest we forget"

[dghob]

I sometimes wonder about our world in the 21st century. If you amuse yourself with some variation or other of a sport or outdoor activity (where joining in is your choice) it gets called "extreme". If you know the right marketing people you might even achieve "hero" status in our society that has (almost) completely lost sight of what "hero" means.

How do today's "exteme" heroes compare with the guys we remember on 25th April each year? Strapping yourself into a 2000hp+ machine loaded with fuel and high explosives, taking off to face an enemy dedicated to killing you and hoping you get home in one piece is what "extreme" means to me. The same can be said of all of our servicemen wherever they put their lives on the line, including my young yacht racing crewman who's just about to lob in Iraq. Thank God for them - they're my heroes!