Posted on 04/24/2005 6:51:42 PM PDT by naturalman1975
GUNFIRE exploded across Darwin's Robertson Army Barracks at dawn today as Australian soldiers gathered to mark Anzac Day.
As many of their comrades were making their way to Iraq, 1st Brigade soldiers paid tribute to the Anzac tradition, 90 years after the first landing at Anzac Cove.
Soldiers from 8th/12th Medium Regiment re-enacted the Gallipoli landing in darkness, with gunfire and flares breaking the silence of the morning.
As the sun rose over the barracks, their commanding officer Graeme Finney reminded them the battle was the start of a tradition that continued to burn in the hearts and souls of the Australian people 90 years on.
"Those standing here this morning have a keen appreciation for the nature of military service," Lieutenant Colonel Finney said.
"Whilst we hope never to share the experiences of those who have gone before us, the harsh reality is that over the coming weeks and months many of those standing here or those we know will deploy on operations in support of the Australian nation."
The service, attended by hundreds of soldiers and their families and friends, was one of a number held across the barracks and the Northern Territory, including Darwin and Alice Springs.
The morning held a special poignancy, as Australia's latest Iraq-bound soldiers - 450 troops mainly drawn from Darwin's 1st Brigade - are gradually deploying to al-Muthana province in southern Iraq, via Kuwait.
The first 140, following the advance party, left Darwin on Saturday night.
Australian soldiers are also serving elsewhere overseas, including the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
"I am confident that today those who we send to serve our nation are much better prepared than those who scaled the cliffs and ravines of the Dardanelles on the 25th of April 1915," Lt-Col Finney said.
"... those who served at Anzac no longer march within our ranks, but they continue to serve us, the later generation of soldiers, through the example that they served.
"Within today's Australian army I see soldiers and officers that are imbued with that same strong sense of professionalism, the same larrikin spirit and the same desire to get the job done.
"Australian service personnel continue to serve our nation, and the people of other nations, far away from their loved ones and always safe in the knowledge that their efforts are appreciated.
"So on this day let's remember those who first carried the flame of a grateful nation, a flame that has brightened our lives and one that has been passed on to a new generation."
And the band played "Waltzing Matilda,"
As the ship pulled away from the quay,
And amidst all the cheers, the flag waving, and tears,
We sailed off for Gallipoli.
And how well I remember that terrible day,
How our blood stained the sand and the water;
And of how in that hell that they call Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter.
Johnny Turk, he was waitin', he primed himself well;
He showered us with bullets, and he rained us with shell --
And in five minutes flat, he'd blown us all to hell,
Nearly blew us right back to Australia.
But the band played "Waltzing Matilda,"
When we stopped to bury our slain,
Well, we buried ours, and the Turks buried theirs,
Then we started all over again.
And those that were left, well, we tried to survive
In that mad world of blood, death and fire.
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
Though around me the corpses piled higher.
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head,
And when I woke up in me hospital bed
And saw what it had done, well, I wished I was dead --
Never knew there was worse things than dying.
For I'll go no more "Waltzing Matilda,"
All around the green bush far and free --
To hump tents and pegs, a man needs both legs,
No more "Waltzing Matilda" for me.
So they gathered the crippled, the wounded, the maimed,
And they shipped us back home to Australia.
The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane,
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla.
And as our ship sailed into Circular Quay,
I looked at the place where me legs used to be,
And thanked Christ there was nobody waiting for me,
To grieve, to mourn and to pity.
But the band played "Waltzing Matilda,"
As they carried us down the gangway,
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared,
Then they turned all their faces away.
And so now every April, I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me.
And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march,
Reviving old dreams of past glory,
And the old men march slowly, all bones stiff and sore,
They're tired old heroes from a forgotten war
And the young people ask "What are they marching for?"
And I ask meself the same question.
But the band plays "Waltzing Matilda,"
And the old men still answer the call,
But as year follows year, more old men disappear
Someday, no one will march there at all.
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda.
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the billabong,
Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?
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