It's ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand

@JudyEv (382858)

Rockingham, Australia

April 25, 2022 2:33am CST

Today was a special day for Australia and New Zealand as we commemorated Anzac Day, a very special day for the military. Here is a quote from a post I wrote about it in 2017: “It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) forces during World War I. This happened on April 25th, 1915 when the Anzacs landed at Gallipoli. Eight thousand Australian and New Zealand soldiers died in the ensuing campaign. The event is often regarded as the day Australia came of age. Every Anzac Day, almost every town in the country holds a service to commemorate the death of so many of our young men in all wars.” We had a dawn service at our small village and one of the residents played his bagpipes for the occasion. Later, we watched the much bigger events at Gallipoli in Turkey, and Villers-Bretonneux, which we visited some years ago. There were also many people who turned out for the parade in Perth, Western Australia, our capital city. Many of the military groups had big banners. Many had intentional holes in them; maybe in the ‘O’s or the tops of the ‘P’s. I was told this was to reduce wind resistance which, in a big banner and strong wind, could be quite substantial. Maybe you knew this but I didn’t.

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22 responses

@Fleura (35192)

• United Kingdom

25 Apr 22

Wouldn't it be nice if humanity learned from the past and there were no more wars! I didn't know about the holes in banners, but it does make sense, they are heavy and certainly take a battering!

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@Fleura (35192)

• United Kingdom

25 Apr 22

@MALUSE Bullies will always try to get away with whatever they can - and who is going to stop this when the threat of nuclear missiles is keeping everyone at bay? Many people here are also willing to welcome refugees from Ukraine, and also from other countries, but the bureaucracy seems to be holding everything up at the moment.

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Apr 22

The one thing humans don't seem to be able to do is learn from the past.

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Apr 22

@MALUSE @Fleura I really admire those countries which are taking in so many refugees. Australia has only taken a handful so far. It's shameful really.

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@toniganzon (77386)

• Philippines

25 Apr 22

It is indeed a very special day.

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@toniganzon (77386)

• Philippines

25 Apr 22

@JudyEv For sure.

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Apr 22

It is nice to honor those who have given their lives for their country.

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@kareng (80243)

• United States

25 Apr 22

Very interesting! It looks like a good turn out there for the ceremony!

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@kareng (80243)

• United States

26 Apr 22

@JudyEv That makes it even more impressive with the turnout!

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Apr 22

It was a good turnout for our small community. All those attending would have had to get up much earlier than usual.

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@rsa101 (41135)

• Philippines

25 Apr 22

Oh wow, I thought ANZAC was a kind of brand of medicine of some sort.

That is nice that you commemorate those kinds of events since I think they deserve some sort of remembrance for their bravery during those trying times.

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Apr 22

It is really a recognition of all servicemen and women, past and present. A lot of Vietnam vets march nowadays and those who have served in Afghanistan.

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@jstory07 (148831)

• Roseburg, Oregon

25 Apr 22

That sounds like you had a good time at your ANZAC day in Australia. Thanks for sharing the information with us.

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Apr 22

I know you have special days to recognise your vets too. It's the least we can do for them.

@erictsuma (9725)

• Mombasa, Kenya

25 Apr 22

Happy ANZAC Day to you and your family

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Apr 22

Thank you very much Eric.

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@erictsuma (9725)

• Mombasa, Kenya

25 Apr 22

@JudyEv you're welcome

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@divalounger (6182)

• United States

26 Apr 22

It is good to commemorate them--but sad that so many die in war.

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@divalounger (6182)

• United States

27 Apr 22

@JudyEv It is true--as you get older, and have seen more and more of the same, it is easy to give up hope of change.

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

27 Apr 22

And they are still dying in their thousands. Once you get older, you start to think it will never be any different.

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@rebelann (117291)

• El Paso, Texas

25 Apr 22

Hats off to all those who bravely gave their lives. Here in the US we have memorial day on May 30 to commemorate all soldiers who gave their lives for our country.

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@rebelann (117291)

• El Paso, Texas

26 Apr 22

I agree. I'm sure most countries commemorate their fallen soldiers in some way or another. But I was surprised that Australia also used the red poppy for commemoration.

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

27 Apr 22

@rebelann They fought in France, Belgium, etc alongside all the other nations.

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Apr 22

Our ANZAC Day would be very similar I'm sure.

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@RebeccasFarm (91297)

• United States

25 Apr 22

Sounds like a great day Judy!

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@RebeccasFarm (91297)

• United States

26 Apr 22

@JudyEv Yes the dear soldiers

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Apr 22

It is a very special day for Australia and crowds are growing every year. We still have soldiers serving in Afghanistan and other such countries.

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@FourWalls (86999)

• United States

25 Apr 22

A heartfelt salute to your marvelous nations who had to join the world in war.

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@FourWalls (86999)

• United States

26 Apr 22

@JudyEv — that’s pretty much what we did in WWI (help Britain), and we’d been independent from them for 140 years by then!

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Apr 22

Thank you. In those days it was all about helping the 'Mother Country (Britain)' but many of our young lads were used as cannon-fodder.

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

27 Apr 22

@FourWalls Half the world map back in my day was the same 'commonwealth' colour. They've slipped a bit since those days.

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@Juliaacv (56385)

• Canada

25 Apr 22

Its so very important to remember.

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@Juliaacv (56385)

• Canada

25 Apr 22

@JudyEv I feel that the growing numbers in attendance may be because we all want to express how we want to learn the lessons from years gone by in an attempt not remake them.

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Apr 22

@Juliaacv So many are against war but the 'leaders' still antagonise others and push their own agendas. I doubt we'll ever be free of hostilities. Maybe it's just human nature to want to expand boundaries, etc.

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

25 Apr 22

It is indeed. Interestingly, there are more and more attending each year. Of course, Vietnam and Afghanistan vets, all those who have served are recognised.

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@moffittjc (128861)

• Gainesville, Florida

26 Apr 22

Happy ANZAC Day! I wish I could say that we have learned from our past wars, but it appears we haven't. And as the population continues to grow, and resources become more scarce, and ideology clouds our judgement, we will continue to fight wars long into the future. Maybe until we annihilate ourselves right off this planet.

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@moffittjc (128861)

• Gainesville, Florida

26 Apr 22

@JudyEv Just think about how bad this planet would be if there were not the western nations (USA, Canada, England, Australia, etc) helping police the planet and bring peace and prosperity. I mean, we're not all perfect, but we don't bomb civilians and flatten entire cities in wartime.

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

27 Apr 22

@moffittjc So true. We (as a global world) can hardly call ourselves 'civilised'.

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Apr 22

Unfortunately I think you are right. We certainly don't seem to be learning from the past.

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@RubyHawk (99367)

• Atlanta, Georgia

26 Apr 22

You’d think we’d learn from experience but we have short memories.

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Apr 22

I've given up believing that people can learn from the past. They seem incapable of it.

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

27 Apr 22

@RubyHawk I think common sense has gone backward.

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@RubyHawk (99367)

• Atlanta, Georgia

26 Apr 22

@JudyEv When we look back at history it’s hard to see that we’ve learned anything. Science and communication has moved forward but not common sense.

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@CarolDM (203396)

• Nashville, Tennessee

26 Apr 22

A great time to celebrate. Never forget those who gave it all.

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Apr 22

World War I took almost a generation of our young men.

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@CarolDM (203396)

• Nashville, Tennessee

26 Apr 22

@JudyEv Very sad time in history.

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@allknowing (153529)

• India

26 Apr 22

Those holes in the large sized banners make sense. Were they decorative or just round?

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Apr 22

The holes were mostly incorporated into the banner so the centre of the poppy might be a hole. Unfortunately I don't have a photo of any of the banners.

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@LadyDuck (503038)

• Italy

25 Apr 22

No I did not know that you celebrated the 25th of April 1915, because today Italy also celebrates, to remember the April 25th 1945, the end of WWII, the anniversary of Italy's Liberation. The liberation put an end to five years of war.

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@LadyDuck (503038)

• Italy

26 Apr 22

@JudyEv - I had almost forgot, when I lived in Italy I remember that in most Italian cities, marches and parades were organised to commemorate the event.

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Apr 22

Thanks for the information. I didn't know that.

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@RasmaSandra (98215)

• Daytona Beach, Florida

25 Apr 22

Happy ANZAC Day I think it is a wonderful wat to celebrate yhr miliysty,

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Apr 22

Nowadays, it honours all service men and women so that's nice too. Anyone who has served is welcome to march.

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@TheHorse (238429)

• Walnut Creek, California

27 Apr 22

I had not known about this Holiday.

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Apr 22

It is an important one for us.

@LindaOHio (223143)

• United States

25 Apr 22

We have Memorial Day in May to honor those that were killed in action. Is that similar?

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Apr 22

Yes, it would be very similar I'm sure. Services in almost every town and parades, etc.

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@FayeHazel (40230)

• United States

25 Apr 22

Wow. A most meaningful day. Good thinking about the banners and putting the holes for less resistance

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@JudyEv (382858)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Apr 22

I couldn't work out what the holes were for and so I asked someone. Some of the banners were very big.

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