“It has been more than 100 years since the end of WWI – a conflict that; saw more than 60,000 Australian lives lost; 156,000 wounded, gassed or taken prisoner; and countless lives altered forever due to horrific mental scars.
The stories of the WWI are incredible, extraordinary and thanks to generation after generation of Australians, etched in our nation’s memory.
There are a number of reasons tales from the Great War continue to be told – and there has been no more important facilitator of those yarns than community newspapers.
From Dubbo to Dungog, Lismore to Lane Cove, every metropolitan, rural and regional publication has played an immensely crucial role in ensuring the sacrifices that our service men and women made will never be forgotten.
Now more than ever it is imperative those community titles survive because if they perish, so too will many of the stories of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice defending our nation.
As a 17-year-old I left my parents, my extended family and my closest friends in Dubbo and signed up to become a member of the Australian Regulatory Army.
For almost 10 years I: served as a paratrooper; a marksman; a radio operator; a rifleman; a member of the Operation Deployment Force and a transport operator.
I credit my time in the Army with instilling a sense of confidence, self-belief, discipline and ethos for hard-work that ultimately led me to the Parliament of NSW.
Mid-last year I was also appointed the Shadow Minister for Local Government, Western Sydney, and last but certainly not least, Veterans.
Along with my wedding day and the birth of my two boys, the appointment as Shadow Minister for Veterans was one of the proudest moments of life.
This year in particular, Anzac Day presents us with an opportunity to reflect on how fortunate we truly are.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many of us into isolation – separating us from our family and friends.
But as sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, this pandemic will eventually pass and our lives will return to normal.
But spare a thought for those men and women 100 years ago who weren’t as fortunate.
When those brave personnel were deployed, they didn’t know whether they would ever feel the embrace of a loved one again.
For those who lived to tell the tale, many were never the same once they did return.
Physical impairments and mental scars ensured the crippling and horrific memories of the battlefield played out in their heads over and over again.
While you sit there locked away in the comfort of your home, think about how lucky you are to have a roof, not bullets, over your head.
When you lie in the comfort of your warm bed, remember those brave Australians who took their last breath lying cold, bloodied and alone on the battlefields.
It is our responsibility to remember them and to continue to tell the stories of the Anzacs for generations to come.
Lest we forget.”
Source: Shadow Minister for Veterans, Greg Warren