E&OE
Prime Minister.
Chairman of the Australian War Memorial Council, Kim Beazley.
Director of the Australian War Memorial, Matt Anderson.
Chief of the Defence Force, General Angus Campbell.
VCDF, Vice Admiral David Johnston.
Chief of Navy.
Chief of Army.
All of those men and women in uniform today.
Those veterans who have served our country with great distinction.
I also acknowledge today those family members who are here to support the memory of their loved ones.
To Members of the Parliament who are here to show their respect on this very important day.
Let me tell you about six Australians.
Edward Butler was born in Hobart, Tasmania. He worked as a solicitor and was a first-class cricketer. In August 1916, the Second Lieutenant was on the Western Front during the Battle of the Somme. A shell explosion saw him lose his left leg below the knee. Edward died of his injuries the following day.
Alan Schmidt was born in Kangarilla, South Australia. He was a labourer when he enlisted into the Royal Australian Navy. In November 1941, the cruiser on which the Ordinary Seaman was serving was suddenly attacked. He was one of 645 souls who went down with HMAS Sydney. He was 18 years of age.
Donald Robertson was born in Melbourne, Victoria. He was the dux of his year at the Point Cook Air College and was awarded the Sword of Honour. In May of 1952, the Pilot Officer was on a mission over Korea. His Meteor fighter was making a low altitude rocket attack when it was hit by ground fire and crashed. Donald’s body could not be recovered.
Cecil Anderson was born in The Gums, Queensland. By the time of the Malayan Emergency, the former station hand who served in the Second World War and in the Korean War was now a Sergeant. In March 1956, his patrol was ambushed and fired upon as they discovered an enemy hideout. Despite being shot in the chest, the Sergeant provided covering fire and calmly gave orders. Cecil soon succumbed to his wounds and was the first Australian to be killed in action in Malaya.
Paul Manning was born in Newcastle, New South Wales. He was a gifted rugby player, trained as a police cadet before joining the Australian Army. In March of 1971, his company was in a defensive position in Phuoc Tuy province in Vietnam. The pitch black of night was lit up by Viet Cong gun fire and satchel charges. The 22-year-old Paul was shot in the neck and killed.
Todd Langley was born in Margaret River in Western Australia. Even from a young age, he was fascinated with world affairs. He enlisted into the Australian Army in 1993 and trained and served as a Commando. In July of 2011, on his fifth tour of Afghanistan, the Sergeant was shot and killed by insurgents. Todd was not just a soldier’s soldier, he was a devoted husband and father.
Ladies and gentlemen: Six unique Australians. From our six different states. Who each saw action and lost their lives in six separate conflicts stretched across our history since Federation. And yet, they share many common traits. They all chose to serve. They all chose to take a stand against the threats of their times. Against imperialism. Against expansionism. Against ideology. Against terrorism. And against evil. They all chose to risk their lives in the hope that their individual deeds would contribute to a cause greater than themselves.
These six Australians are among the more than 103,000 commemorated in this national war memorial – our most sacred place. And every Australian today is a beneficiary of their collective service and sacrifice.
Our remembrance of our fallen is much more than an expression of gratitude.
Our remembrance of our fallen reminds us that we too have a choice.
In our times of resurgent autocrats and emboldened terrorists who threaten free nations, free peoples and our civilisation itself, it is indeed a time for choosing.
May we choose to rise to the challenges of our times, and in the process, find new national resolve, new national confidence, new national industriousness and renewed national unity.
May we choose to stand with our allies in their hour of need – for who will stand with us in our needful hour if we are content to sit on the sidelines.
May we choose to inject much needed speed into building and acquiring defence platforms and munitions – respecting history’s lesson of peace through strength.
May we choose to recall those words of warning which Ronald Reagan spoke to his generation about the price of failure – that ‘history will record with the greatest astonishment that those who had the most to lose did the least to prevent its happening.’
So may we choose necessary action over futile procrastination to preserve and pass on – rather than squander – what has been gifted to us through the service and sacrifice of those here commemorated.
Lest we forget.
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