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A blanketing hush fell on the audience when the lone U.S. Marine
bugler played “Last Post,” the Australian and New Zealand version of
“Taps.”
The ceremony held at the National Memorial Cemetery
of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 25, 2016 served to remind
the audience of the impact of the Australian and New Zealand Army
Corps, or ANZAC, at the Battle of Gallipoli, where approximately
9,000 Australians and 3,000 New Zealanders made the ultimate
sacrifice.
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Marines from 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment march down the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, to “Waltzing
Matilda,” a famous Australian ballad, April 25, 2016. This is the
44th year U.S. Marines have participated in the commemoration of the
Australia New Zealand Army Corps Day, highlighting a long-lasting
friendship between the three countries. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by
Lance Cpl. Robert Sweet)
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The U.S. Marine Corps studied the Battle of Gallipoli
extensively, especially the withdrawal from the peninsula, allowing
them to develop and enhance their amphibious doctrine during major
battles in World War II.
The “ANZAC spirit” emerged after
the war back home as a result of the courageous efforts of the ANZAC
soldiers, which ultimately consolidated into the modern-day
Australian and New Zealand ethos and identity.
"Gallipoli
marks the first time that people really thought of themselves as New
Zealanders and Australians where two nations were forged in the mud
and blood of Gallipoli," said Sir Jim McLay, New Zealand
Consulate-General. "So it is every year at ANZAC Day where we
acknowledge that it was them at Gallipoli who had attributes of
bravery, tenacity, practicality, ingenuity, and personal loyalty
that helped define our countries."
ANZAC Day ceremonies take
place all over the world; this was the 44th year the Marine Corps
supported the ceremony in Hawaii, honoring the long-lasting
friendship between Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
This multilateral commemoration compelled the audience to
reflect on what it means for military members to sacrifice their
lives for something greater than themselves.
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U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific color guardsmen bows their heads
during prayer at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
during Australia New Zealand Army Corps Day, April 25, 2016. This is
the 44th year U.S. Marines have participated in the commemoration
ceremony, highlighting the long-lasting friendship between the three
countries. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Robert Sweet)
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"It is particularly poignant that we gather here at this
beautiful but solemn sad place and too many other places
like it around the world where the remains of thousands of
heroic souls lie in often unfamiliar foreign soil, but
always in the embrace of a grateful nation," said Jeff
Robinson, Australian Consulate-General. "Those men and women
surrounded in these fields here, those individuals --
ordinary people -- called upon to do the extraordinary: gave
their lives, their futures serving a bigger purpose for us."
ANZAC Day is about honoring and supporting the
legacy and tradition those men – and service members from
all over who sacrificed their lives – passed on to future
generations. Members from the Polynesian Cultural Center
performed a "Haka," which is an ancestral war chant from the
indigenous Maori tribe from New Zealand.
“The ANZAC
story speaks to us of pride and our respective country of
who we are as Australians and New Zealanders of a quiet
confidence born out of sacrifice,” said Brigadier John
Boswell, Assistant Chief of Strategic Commitments and
Engagements of New Zealand Defence Force. “It speaks to us
of nations of ordinary people doing extraordinary actions
for their friends, and it speaks to us of the horror of war
and the need to build peace.”
By U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Robert Sweet
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2016
The U.S. Marines
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