At the going down of the sun....
Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 7:29 pm
At the going down of the sun...
I crouched in a shallow trench on that heck* of exposed beaches... steeply rising foothills bare of cover... a landscape pockmarked with war’s inevitable litter... piles of stores... equipment... ammunition... and the weird contortions of death sculptured in Australian flesh... I saw the going down of the sun on that first ANZAC Day... the chaotic maelstrom of Australia’s blooding.
I fought in the frozen mud of the Somme... in a blazing destroyer exploding on the North Sea... I fought on the perimeter at Tobruk... crashed in the flaming wreckage of a fighter in New Guinea... lived with the damned in the place cursed with the name Changi.
I was your mate... the kid across the street... the med. student at graduation... the mechanic in the corner garage... the baker who brought you bread... the gardener who cut your lawn... the clerk who sent your phone bill.
I was an Army private... a Naval commander... an Air Force bombardier. no man knows me... no name marks my tomb, for I am every Australian serviceman... I am the Unknown Soldier.
I died for a cause I held just in the service of my land... that you and yours may say in freedom... I am proud to be an Australian.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
Wherever you are tomorrow, please take a moment to remember airmen, sailors and diggers both past and present who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
Australians Killed in Afghanistan - Lest We Forget
Andrew Russell, 33
David Pearce, 41
Matthew Locke, 33
Luke Worsley, 26
Jason Marks, 27
Sean McCarthy, 25
Michael Fussell, 25
Gregory Michael Sher, 30
Mathew Hopkins, 21
Brett Till, 31
Benjamin Ranaudo, 22
Darren Smith, 25
Jacob Moerland, 21 and MWD Herbie**
Ben Chuck, 27
Timothy Aplin, 38
Scott Palmer, 27
Nathan Bewes, 23
Jason Thomas Brown, 29
Grant Kirby, 35
Thomas Dale, 21
Jared MacKinney, 28 (RIP Crash, we'll look after Beckie and the kids until you meet in each others arms again)
Richard Edward Atkinson, 22
Jamie Larcombe, 21
*H E L L must be a naughty word on here...
**MWD = Military Working Dog
I crouched in a shallow trench on that heck* of exposed beaches... steeply rising foothills bare of cover... a landscape pockmarked with war’s inevitable litter... piles of stores... equipment... ammunition... and the weird contortions of death sculptured in Australian flesh... I saw the going down of the sun on that first ANZAC Day... the chaotic maelstrom of Australia’s blooding.
I fought in the frozen mud of the Somme... in a blazing destroyer exploding on the North Sea... I fought on the perimeter at Tobruk... crashed in the flaming wreckage of a fighter in New Guinea... lived with the damned in the place cursed with the name Changi.
I was your mate... the kid across the street... the med. student at graduation... the mechanic in the corner garage... the baker who brought you bread... the gardener who cut your lawn... the clerk who sent your phone bill.
I was an Army private... a Naval commander... an Air Force bombardier. no man knows me... no name marks my tomb, for I am every Australian serviceman... I am the Unknown Soldier.
I died for a cause I held just in the service of my land... that you and yours may say in freedom... I am proud to be an Australian.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
Wherever you are tomorrow, please take a moment to remember airmen, sailors and diggers both past and present who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
Australians Killed in Afghanistan - Lest We Forget
Andrew Russell, 33
David Pearce, 41
Matthew Locke, 33
Luke Worsley, 26
Jason Marks, 27
Sean McCarthy, 25
Michael Fussell, 25
Gregory Michael Sher, 30
Mathew Hopkins, 21
Brett Till, 31
Benjamin Ranaudo, 22
Darren Smith, 25
Jacob Moerland, 21 and MWD Herbie**
Ben Chuck, 27
Timothy Aplin, 38
Scott Palmer, 27
Nathan Bewes, 23
Jason Thomas Brown, 29
Grant Kirby, 35
Thomas Dale, 21
Jared MacKinney, 28 (RIP Crash, we'll look after Beckie and the kids until you meet in each others arms again)
Richard Edward Atkinson, 22
Jamie Larcombe, 21
*H E L L must be a naughty word on here...
**MWD = Military Working Dog