DAWN. A hail of bullets, shells and shrapnel poured down on our men as they raced up narrow beaches to seize a foothold on foreign soil.
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Many – too many – would make the ultimate sacrifice that morning and in the following months, in a heroic campaign forever imprinted in Australia’s national DNA.
Two words resonate down through the generations: Gallipoli and Anzac.
They embody not only the courage, commitment and sacrifice of all Australian service men and women in all the conflicts in which they have fought, but embedded a spirit in the country and people to face challenges and triumph against the odds.
Down through the years, our soldiers inherited the Anzac spirit from Gallipoli and the Western Front and fought with distinction around the world from the Pacific islands to Europe, North Africa, the jungles of Asia and the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan.
They are legendary, respected and recognised internationally.
This Anzac Day, 100 years on from that bleak and bloody dawn, much focus will be on Gallipoli and World War I.
But, it is a day to honour all those Australians in wars from the Boer War until today – the fallen, the wounded, the shattered survivors, the POWs treated horrifically and others.
The families and communities who suffered back home.
Today, service men and women are on combat duty in foreign lands. The nation’s prayers and thoughts are with them.
To all of them: We will never forget.