l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 AS Australia loses more of its best and bravest to the war in Afghanistan,
the RSL says this Remembrance Day is as important to the nation as Armistice
Day was at the end of World War I.
RSL president Jock Statton said Australians should pause to remember the
recent sacrifices of their armed forces and think of those men and women
fighting overseas in today's conficts as the clock strikes 11 on the 11th
day of the 11th month.
"Today there are still servicemen and women serving around the world, and
unfortunately some being killed in action," Mr Statton, a Vietnam War
veteran, said.
"Remembrance Day is just as important in 2011 as we pause for a minute's
silence and reflection as we remember and pay our respects to those
servicemen and women who died or suffered for the Australian cause in all
wars and armed conflicts."
Armistice Day was renamed Remembrance Day after World War II, but originally
marked the signing of the armistice six hours before WWI ended at 11am on
November 11, 1918.
Legacy chief executive Rainer Jozeps said today's commemorations would
recognise and emphasise that the suffering continued.
He urged people to remember not only those who died but the "visible and
invisible wounds" that endured.
"Substance abuse, family violence and suicide are afflictions of the
returned, and it is becoming clear that emotional injuries should be for the
community to grapple with, not just a veteran's family," Mr Jozeps said. "
Families of veterans affected by war inherit a legacy of care on behalf of
us all, and should not be left alone to deal with it."
Year 11 student Cate Prowse, from Walford Anglican School for Girls, will
tell those who gather at one of the state's largest ceremonies today, at
Centennial Park, why younger people respect the significance of Remembrance
Day.
Cate said she had previously avoided school activities surrounding the
anniversary but now had a greater understanding of the suffering of
individuals during war.
In researching her speech she discovered the suffering her WWII veteran
grandfather endured as the war claimed the lives of many of his friends.
"The significance of Remembrance Day is learning the individual stories and
hearing about the individual sacrifice, because you can get too bogged down
in numbers and statistics and never really appreciate what really happened,"
Cate said.
"It is about sharing the individual stories and recognising every individual
sacrifice, which is more important than the politics or the ideology."
The Centennial Park ceremony begins at 10.30am and will feature a display of
WWII uniforms and Australian flags draped over 3500 memorial headstones.
A bugler will sound Last Post at 11am, followed by a minute's silence.
Poppies can also be bought and placed at the North Tce Field of Remembrance
today until early afternoon. | o***s
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