ANZAC DAY

2022 RSL – John Sargent Memorial Scholarship Recipient

JEREMY SMYTH 

                What ANZAC day means to me?

As the recipient of the 2022 RSL John Sargent Memorial Scholarship, I would like to thank the RSL and its members for their generous donation and for giving me the opportunity today to share with you ‘What ANZAC Day means to me.’ 

ANZAC day is a day to commemorate brave Australians and New Zealanders who gave their lives not just at Gallipoli but in all conflicts. It is not only a day to recall the tragic wars that have been but to show respect for all those involved. It is a day to reflect and to try and imagine what it must have been like for all those affected by war. ANZAC day is a day to show empathy or at the very least show sympathy by realising that there were Australians and New Zealanders who sacrificed everything to allow our countries to have the freedom that we have today. It is a time to realise that their sacrifice has ensured that we have a wonderful country to live and grow up in and to realise how much better it is comparatively. 

ANZAC day is a day to be grateful for what we have. In appreciating what we have, I believe, it is important that people of all ages must continue to commemorate and never forget the sacrifice made by both men and women during times of war. But to truly commemorate those who have given their lives and continue to serve our country today, I feel they need to be more than names and numbers. It can be hard to connect a person to events that seem so far way. Therefore, it is through days such as ANZAC Day and its historical significance that we are reminded of the many events that happened outside of my current life. 

My family’s personal history has had some connection to war. However, to really appreciate the names and numbers behind the brave people who gave their lives, I do not limit myself to my own family but to draw on stories and make personal connections with my current friends and family.

Which is why for me, ANZAC day becomes a day of reflection. To me, ANZAC day is a day I think about the people, family, relatives and friends who I have in my life, and what it would be like for them to have to go away to serve and fight for our country and the dangers involved. I think about the family members I have that are involved in the air force; I think about never seeing them again, I think about not seeing anyone I love again. I think about everything I have and what it would be like to suddenly be taken away from those things. Taken away from a life that, in comparison, is frankly really easy and comfortable full of joy and put somewhere that is the complete opposite of that. Put somewhere that try as I might, I can’t imagine how bad it would actually be. Because nothing I’ve experienced comes close to war. Stories and media can give some idea of what war is like, but I understand my brain doesn’t comprehend it as reality. 

I think about all these things as a way to try and connect it back to the brave ANZAC soldiers and their families and to those service men and women who have served in various conflicts throughout our history. Many of them had to experience these thoughts that terrify me. For that I’m deeply sorry and I hope we through days such as ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day can continue to honour their memory.

The Ode:

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn.At the going down of the sun, and in the morning We will remember them."

Pause 

LEST WE FORGET

Jeremy Smyth

Year 11