[dropcap]Y[/dropcap]ou’re never, ever going to get 100 percent support for anything, and Anzac Day is no different.
There’s a good chance that a very great majority of us are with the school of thought that April 25 is this country’s biggest day.
Not that it has much to compete with during each year, but its powerful message that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it resonates more and more.
So even though there are critics – round up the usual suspects – they are few and far between and their views can sometimes border on the irrational.
On Anzac Day, the rest of us conjure up images of bravery and sacrifice, juxtaposed with appalling brutality, which is not exactly an advertisement for war.
Each year new stories are told and help to keep the legend of Anzac alive for many future generations.
And just as Americans celebrate their war of independence against tyranny on the 4th of July, we remember our own sons who died fighting to protect our sovereignty and our freedoms.
We also honour the current servicemen and women whose duty it is to defend our country.
But like everything else, Anzac Day has also become a day that unites the thousands of communities across the country.
Dawn services and marches are attended by large numbers, wherever they’re held.
This is particularly true of Anzac Day in Macarthur, at Ingleburn, Campbelltown and Camden.
They are all held on April 25, but each year on the Sunday before, Picton Thirlmere Bargo RSL also hold a very special Anzac Day commemoration in Thirlmere.
Local residents in their thousands attend these services to pay their respect to those who served and those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
It is also a day when we reflect that we live in a great country where freedoms are sometimes taken for granted and perhaps we should be a little more vigilant.
Lest We Forget.
