Anzac Day 2009
25 April 2009
Anzac in Uruzgan
As dawn broke over the rugged mountains of Uruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan, the modern Diggers serving with the 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force and the Special Operations Task Group joined with the soldiers of other Coalition nations to pause and remember those soldiers, including their mates who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the service of Australia.
Anzac, a day which holds special significance for all Australian service personnel, held even more poignancy this year for the soldiers currently deployed in southern Afghanistan, coming just one month after the deaths of their mates, Corporal Mathew Hopkins and Sergeant Brett Till.
Adding to the significance of the day was the presence of one of Australia’s most famous surviving Diggers, Mr. Keith Payne VC, who joined the soldiers in Uruzgan after visiting a number of deployed locations in the Middle East.
Yet even as the soldiers and their guests “inside the wire” of Camp Holland paid their respects as the Last Post played, other Australian soldiers serving throughout the province prepared for the day’s patrols. Soldiers serving with the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams held their services a day early to allow for their work which cannot pause even on this most important of occasions.
The Dawn Service concluded and the soldiers in Camp Holland gathered together to share breakfast and reflect on the proud reputation forged in earlier conflicts that they now continue.
In typical Australian fashion, the day was not entirely somber and commemorative, rather many of the other nationalities present experienced the sense of humour and the sporting competitiveness which Australians are renowned for, with football and cricket competitions running in the lead up to an afternoon barbeque and the traditional Australian Anzac Day flutter, as the voices and coins were raised in many games of two up.
Even those soldiers who enjoyed the luxury of a break to mark Anzac Day will have short respite, as the missions continue tomorrow and through the remaining months of their deployment.
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