It must be because I grew up hearing the stories about what Australian and New Zealand troops achieved (and died achieving) during the First and Second World Wars, that Anzac Day tends to register in my consciousness more than Remembrance Day ever does, even living here in North America.
Plus, too, this year I have all the horrifying and fascinating facts about WWI I picked up from researching Time and Remembrance to add weight to the occasion.
In Australia, Anzac Day is a national holiday, and by the time this post goes live, it will have already passed, because of the international date line.
So this is my very small acknowledgement of Australia’s and New Zealand’s contribution to peace-keeping around the globe. I’ve been privileged to know more than my share of Australian forces personnel, and some of them are family.
It’s a universal thing, in the end, isn’t it?
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Thank you for sharing. Although my dad was in the US Army, he served in the Pacific Theatre during WWII and was in Australia and New Zealand, among other beautiful but at the time deadly islands. Of the over 300 men in their original unit (and the many constant incoming replacements), only 5 lived to go home. So any day honoring the brave men who fought , no matter where they were from, is a time to give them are most grateful thanks