Mateship at heart of Anzac spirit
Respect for young veterans and honouring the Anzac values will be the key takeaways from this morning’s Anzac Day addresses by Australian and New Zealand servicemen.
Set to give the keynote address at the Mt Clarence dawn service, Royal New Zealand Air Force Warrant Officer Gary Clark will focus on the spirit of Anzac mateship.
Mr Clark, the New Zealand High Commission business manager, said he wanted to preserve the legacy of the troops who left Albany for foreign battlefields — recently and in the world wars.
“We need to be respecting our younger veterans, now that the older veterans ... are somewhat reduced,” he said.
“We need to honour those people by respecting our newer veterans.”
The Christchurch-born visitor will also touch on last month’s terrorist attacks in his home town, which killed 50 people.
Later in the morning, Royal Australian Air Force Flight Lieutenant Chris Brady will give the keynote speech at the Anzac Peace Park service.
Mr Brady will share stories of courage, endurance, mateship and sacrifice.
He said the speech would discuss Anzac values, the Gallipoli legend and the continued military partnership between Australia and New Zealand.
“As a society we could try embracing some of those values as we go forward,” he said.
An Albany-born veteran, he said the opportunity to give the keynote address in his home city was a special honour.
“Having my family there means a fair bit to me,” he said.
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