OT Happy Anzac Day and happy Liberation Day

My wishes go along to all as well. :o)

*hugs* Gemini

While I am sure that the sentiments were kindly meant I feel obliged to point out that ANZAC Day is our special National day for remembering the sacrifices made by Australian and New Zealand armed forced personnel, from those that were in WW1 (including those at the landing in ANZAC Cove) right up to those who serve now in overseas postings.

To say "Happy ANZAC Day" is rather like saying "Happy Memorial Day" to an American, or "Hapy Rememberance Day" (Nov 11 - also observed in Australia) to a Briton. As an ex-Service person I associate many sentiments with ANZAC Day, but none of them are happy. It is indeed a Public Holiday here, but record numbers of people attended solemn dawn rememberance services and watched marches in towns and cities across our two countries today.

I truly thank you for your good wishes. I just wanted you to know what ANZAC Day means to most of us Downunder.

I join you in wishing all our Italian friends a Happy Liberation Day!

CW

Sorry, I didn't want to hurt any feeling and I will never ever post it again. As many people here knows, English is NOT my first language (it's actually my fourth one) and I only tried to convey my deepest feelings of gratitude to all of them who died in Europe for our freedom during I and IIWW. I even searched if it was correct to say "Happy Anzac Day" and yes, I found that by google. Once again, sorry, I'll never write anymore on this or any other occasion.

Anna Maria

Anna Maria! Please DO post on this again! Your English is beautiful and google did not steer you wrong. Perhaps next year, you could post it as "remembering".... Noreen who doesn't think you did anything wrong at ALL!

I'm very sorry, CW. I had actually never heard of Anzac Day before, and I didn't bother looking it up to find out what it was. I do know how I spend quiet time on Remembrance Day (also observed here in Canada, by the way) reflecting on those who lost their lives for our freedom, so now that I know what Anzac Day is I will be careful not to say *Happy* Anzac Day again. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

By the way... I don't remember seeing you here before... so, welcome to RCTY.

*hugs* Gemini

Anna Maria

My feelings were not hurt, and I truly did appreciate the spirit in which your message was sent. I simply wanted those who were interested to know what ANZAC Day means to us.

I suppose that some Australians might say "Happy ANZAC Day". I have never heard it - that's all. I'm sorry if I sounded upset, and I do thank you for remembering that it was a special day for us. Please do not be deterred from remembering this day again in future. It is very special to us, and we are always pleased when it is remembered by others. I hope you will feel free to extend good wishes on any special dates for any countries as they occur. The world could use more such good will.

I congratulate you on your linguistic skills, which are far, far greater than mine BTW. Way back in the Dark Ages when I was at school I was "required" to learn French, which I did not enjoy much - possibly because of the teachers involved. I can still speak only basic French (probably with an appalling Australian accent that would make any self-respecting Frenchman cringe). But I always wished I could have learned Italian, and also maybe Latin as that is a root language for so many European languages.

Thanks for the welcome Gemini. I lurk mostly, but rarely post. Poor eyesight restricts my use of the computer.

I did not intend to "correct" anyone, just to try to explain why ANZAC Day is special to many Australians.

The following is way OT and rather sombre in tone, so please feel free not to read further. I would not normally presume to post on such a subject here, but this is part of the reason why ANZAC Day is so special to me.

When I was still in uniform all the officers from my Base in Sydney were assigned schools in our area, where we would attend school ANZAC Services in the days leading up to the

25th. I was given the name of a school and told that it was normal to prepare a short address about the landing at Anzac Cove and it's significance to Australia as a nation at a level suited to 8 to 10 year olds. This I did. Only when I arrived at the school was I informed that over 80% of the school population was of Turkish heritage. The ANZACS at Anzac Cove/Gallipoli were part of the British forces attempting to invade the land that later became modern Turkey. When I went in to the assembly to give my address I found that many parents and grand parents were there for the service as well. All listened most attentively to my address and applauded after. When the service finished one boy brought his grandfather over to say hello to me. The old man did not speak English but he wanted to shake my hand. His brother had been killed at Gallipoli fighting the ANZACS over 70 years before. Through his grandson he thanked Australia for letting him bring his family to this beautiful country.

This year for the first time the families of Turkish veterans were officially invited to join the ANZAC Day marches with the families of our veterans. There are no Australian veterans of Gallipoli still living, but their families continue to represent them in marches. For many years Turkish veterans have joined local marches unofficially. But this year the invitation was made official, perhaps in long-overdue recognition of the respect and empathy so often displayed between the rank and file soldiers on both sides of that terrible conflict and so many others.

So often those fighting deplore the loss of life and destruction they participate in, but they are powerless to stop it.

The Australian ANZAC story

from the Turkish perspective am of the generation that saw young men conscripted to serve in Viet Nam. I did not join the military until after that war, but I served with many who had seen service there. I am grateful every day that my training was only ever called upon for relief work for floods, bushfires, famines and SAR work.

Thank you, and it was a beautiful Liberation Day here.

My uncle (my father's oldest brother) died in the Gallipolli invasion. My father was just a small boy at the time. They were living in Scotland, and I don't know much about what division or whatever he was with. The entire rest of the family were pacifists, and another uncle spent most of the war in a British prison camp because he refused to bear arms. (There were no concientious objectors then.)

Thank you for sharing your story with us, CW. It was very interesting! I had a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye when I read about the grandfather who shook your hand.

My Dad was in the Royal Canadian Navy during WWII. He didn't speak much about the war... but what he did say definitely made you realize that very few (if anyone at all) wanted to be involved in war and killing other people... but it was a necessity of the times to keep the free world free. He and most other servicemen (and women) knew that the "enemy" were just as scared as they were and didn't really want to be doing what they were doing. Some of the men in the Legion here in my town told stories of when they happened upon an "enemy" and they were both frightened. The were cautious because of what they were taught about each other, but they didn't fire upon each other and instead exchanged smiles and nods and went their own way to go about what they were heading for to begin with.

Now that you have come out and posted for the first time, I hope you will be a frequent visitor here. :o)

If you would like to check out what a lot of us look like (if your eyesight will allow you to view pictures okay), you can check them out at the link following my signature. I'm not in the RCTY album, but instead I am in my Family album... but there are plenty of others in the RCTY album. If you have a picture of yourself that you would like added to the album, just send it (jpg please) along to me at gemsawriter AT yahoo DOT ca with RCTY Photos in the subject line and the name you use in the body of the email for me to add to your picture.

Oh by the way (everyone)... I thought I posted a message about this, but I guess I either forgot or I'm just not seeing the message... Norma sent me a more updated picture of she and Wade for the album. :o)

Thanks Gemini.

I probably won't post much, but I like to read about all the things I used to do and that helps me to keep current on new methods/patterns/gadgets. If it is OK with everyone I think I will just stay quietly in the background. But I love to sometimes drop in and see or hear about the beautiful things you all make. I especially like to read that someone has tried something new to them. We should all try to learn something new every day - don't you think? .

-- CW

Hi CW,

Thanks for joining us and come in whenever you feel you can. My grandmother used to tell me we learn one new thing every day.

Hugs,

Nora from upstate NY

CW, as an Aussie I know what you mean but I think the men and women we thinkof, and pray for on this solmn day would like to think we can shed the tears, I know we all do, and still feel a happiness that these people gave theri lives for just that - for us to be happy in the freedom they bought with their lives. God Bless Gwen

Anna Maria - please do not feel like that - yours was the first post I read and I thanked you for it as I appreciated your thought - see my post to CW and you will know that I feel Happy Anzac day is very appropriate indeed - and I do not know form which country you come but if you have, I would think you do, a day for remembering the sacrifices these people made for us then may I send my good wishes to you to remember them in happiness - even if there is a tear is the eye as the last post plays. God Bless Gwen

Gemini I might just add another note to this - first I do think "happy Anzac day " is fine - see my other posts. Anzac day is very special in Australia and New Zealand because it not only honours the fallen soldiers, sailors and air men and women of both countries but also joins the two countries together is a way no other country is joined to us and I am sure the NZers would say the same. The name Anzac is made from the words Australian and New Zaland Army Coprs. and that is a tie kin to how the ex soldies marching with their old comrades must feel--- a joining that reaches above all others. I think all Australia stops at 11 am on both Anzac day and Rememberence day (11th November the day WW1 finished- the 11th hour of the

Cw that is a lovely story of the Turkish grandfather - the Turks and the Anzaca had great respect for each other. I remember when on a visit to the USA we were in a shop in down town Los Angles on Anzac Day and talked for a moment or two to the shopowner who hastely left us and rushed out the back of his shop - we wondered why the haste- and he returned with a bottle of wime saying that he realised that we were Australians ( who could note the accent !! ) and told us he was Turkish and felt such respect for our forces that he wanted to give us this gift. To say we were totally taken aback is putting it mildly - but we were very touched by his gesture and spen quite a bit o f time with him which was interesting. God Bless Gwen

My maternal grandfather used to learn one new word (it's spelling and meaning) from the dictionary everyday. My grandmother told my Mom that he also had a photographic memory so things came very easy to him... my Mom said "Sure... I couldn't get *that* from him instead of his dark hair, could I?" hehehe Unfortunately no one ended up getting it from him. He drowned when he was quite young (before my Mom was born), so perhaps that was God's way of compensating that his life was to be short.. by giving him a brilliant mind and the will to explore it as far as he could in his short time in this life. :o)

Peace! Gemini