As ANZAC Day dawns, our thoughts turn to those who have served our nation overseas, during times of war, and in times of peace, as keepers of the peace.
There is though, no time like the present to reflect on the service that our Defence Force provide, right here, in Australia.
2020 has shocked us all and it started with bushfires raging across the country with thousands of people isolated on the beach in Mallacoota.
Defence personnel were deployed to assist residents and rescue stranded holiday makers of this tiny beachside town. As a nation we witnessed these skilled professionals do what they do best.
What they do best is to serve our great country in its time of need. Time and time again our Defence Force personnel come into assist through floods, fires, droughts and cyclones. They are trained, disciplined, dedicated and organised, and they manage calculated risk to make things happen.
Today, as a war of a different kind, a war on COVID-19, rages around the world, our Defence Force personnel are again there at the frontline. They go where we need them. Whether that is to work alongside medical staff, setting up and staffing an emergency hospital in Tasmania or assisting with the production of personal protective equipment in Shepparton.
They do this service without question, they do it in the Spirit of Service. Just as those we salute on ANZAC Day did when they left our shores to fight overseas.
This coming ANZAC Day is different to those of the past. We cannot attend our dawn services this year. We cannot stand and watch or join in the march, we can though remember them, we can give a silent thanks.
So, this ANZAC Day go out to your letterbox at dawn, go out to your driveway and stand as one.
Let us embrace the stillness and reflect. Let us demonstrate our respect in honouring those who have served and continue to serve our country with this simple act of solidarity.
People who may be strangers standing as one. Just as they stood as strangers on foreign soil. It’s both a private and public statement of unity. The things that unite us are stronger than those that divide us.
We owe them this much at least. Let us honour them.
Lest we forget.
#AnzacAtHome #StandAtDawn #LightUpTheDawn
