"And the band played 'Waltzing Matilda'...."

*hugs*

"And the band played 'Waltzing Matilda'...."

They played that on ABC Radio National this evening. It always makes me cry, I'm serious.

(you can download the mp3 here)

I used to march with my dad when I was young. ANZAC day has never really 'moved' me that much. It's a different case when you hear people talk about it or read about it. Pretty amazing. So I understand where your head went dg.

My grandfather lied about his age to join WWI. The Somme, not Gallipoli however.
Gallipoli.

I find this page, as a tribute to ANZAC soldiers from a Turkish web site, rather touching:

Many thousands of Anzac and Turkish soldiers died, not only from the battle but from disease brought about by the poor living conditions. However from this disaster was born the image of the Aussie Digger, a brave and laconic battler, betrayed by the mother country but facing impossible odds with humour, courage and mateship.

≡ Click to see image ≡

A group of ANZAC soldiers at Gallipoli

It always makes me cry, I'm serious.

Me, too, Jimbob. Every. Single. Time.

To think of such an incredible waste of young lives at a time when our country could so ill afford to lose them
...
betrayed by the mother country

A problem I sometimes have with ANZAC day is that this isn't necessarily what comes through for a lot of people. It has become too much a celebration of national pride, when to me it's always been about a national tragedy. Maybe I'm just imagining it, but it's hard not to have that impression when they stage all-night parties at the site of the ANZAC day dawn service in Gallipoli, as they did last year.

Yeah, OK, I admit it - it brings a tear to my eye and a lump to my throat every time I hear it, even though it pisses me off.

ANZAC day never meant much to me either, peacay, until I visited the War Memorial in Canberra a few years ago. It was then that the enormity of what had been lost hit me. All around me were people just struck dumb by the imensity of the list of names. What really struck me today was that the soldiers whoe died at Gallipoli would almost all have had parents of a similar age to me - these were not people my age who had died in a battle, they were people the age of my kids, or at least the age of my eldest, that had given their lives (right or wrong) to defend what they saw as the freedom of their country. To come to this realisation with my son sitting on my shoulders was a feeling that I almost couldn't bear.

Jimbob, certainly the service that I attended was more about respecting those who died and mourning their loss than celebrating anything. I found it to be a sombre, but fitting service. From what I saw on the news, the all-night parties and Bee Gees concerts at Anzac Cove are a thing of the past - fucking good thing too.

In the U.S., we have Memorial Day. It bothers me that the purpose of this day goes frequently unobserved. Because my father is a veteran, our family typically went to wreath-laying ceremonies that day before moving on to a picnic or barbecue. But that tradition seems to be fading.

Part of it I blame on the American work schedule. When you have only 2 weeks' vacation each year, it becomes less appealing to take a day of that precious three-day weekend and devote it to something rather sad. Many people use these weekends for short getaways, others as an excuse to have a backyard party.

I wish there were some way to bring back broad participation in this sort of ritual observance. To me it has nothing to do with glorifying war; in fact, it's probably incredible healthy for a society to annually recognize the costs of war. Looking at the sombre faces of aged vets as they memorialize their cohorts who never got to grow old should well remind us to be careful about what we do with our soldiers.

Wow. Gallipoli. What a waste, soldiers sent over as cannonfodder.

Both the Pogues and the Aussie band Weddings, Parties and Anything do great interpretations of Matilda, btw.

To celebrate the sacrifice of those fine lads, I do believe I shall make a batch of one of my favorite cookies, the ANZAC Biscuit.

I went to the Sydney marches, wasn't planned was just passing through the city so stopped to watch for about 2 1/2 hours, in the past I was indifferent to Anzac day, but yesterday was different....I really enjoyed the bands.

Miko, I think ANZAC day has gone from being just another long weekend to being something that is observed with much more respect these days. One of the key things that changed this was, I believe, that the day is now always observed on 25 April, now matter what day it falls on - previously, it was the closest Monday that was a holiday. This helps people to not think of it as a holiday, but more as an observance of something important. More and more people are attending the services, either the dawn service or those later in the day and many of those held in smaller commuities are now struggling to manage the crowds. I attended at what used to be a small township called Upper Coomera where there were cars parked all over the place and it was a bit of mayhem. What surprised me (in a good sort of way) was the number of younger people (late teens to 30s) who were there - something that has been echoed at ANZAC Cove, I believe. Perhaps events around the world in recent years have opened the eyes of the younger generations to the essential uselessness of war.

As with most of Australia, we got the family together for a BBQ after the service, with the obligatory ANZAC biscuits (home-made, of course) and trifle.

Aah, the Band Played Waltzing Matilda. I was thinking of posting that, it pretty much says it all. Add me to the list of people who always cry when they hear it.

When I was little, I wondered why they named a holiday after a kind of biscuit. Then I found out it was a commemoration of the ANZAC soldiers. Now I wonder why they named the soldiers after a biscuit.