Today is the 11th of November. I happened to be in the city at 10 30 and decided to stop by the tomb of the unknown soldier in the main business street of Sydney. All the brass was there.. well.. a lot of it at least. Important people in Australian society laied wreathes. High ranking soldiers, politicians, businessmen and women.
The last post was sounded . there was a minute’s silence.. the words.. “lest we forget” were read out by the speaker. it is a solemn occasion. Remembrance of those who gave their lives for the freedoms that maintain the status here and in many other parts of the world..
Armistice day was at 11 am on nov. 11 1918 when the ceasefire went into effect.
Of course there are no diggers* left now.. but there were a couple of old soldiers from the second war, and a few in the crowd from Vietnam who showed up.
The people who are highlighted are the soldiers who fell at the front. . “they shall not weary…”
But actually.. it is the unsung heros that have made the difference. If you ask me.. the mothers who bore children to fight in one capacity or another.. the men and women who worked themselves to death to keep the place going while everyone else was away.. .. the unsung heros .. the unknown soldiers are the ones that win the war and keep the place worth fighting for. ( I don’t mean to take anything away from the courage of the soldier at the front, but he is doing his duty no more or less than the soldier who has no uniform at all.)
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