even if it wasn’t required by my lecturer to attend the anzac day dawn service, i still would have tried to round up some friends and troop down to the shrine of remembrace in the cold, dreary morning.
the most surreal part of it for me was the converging of thousands of people to the same place for the same reason, almost like animal magetism.
accounts of the war experiences, both ww1 and ww2, were broadcasted over the loud speakers while people gathered in darkess, in anticipation of the laying of wreaths.
the service was over fairly quickly and the crowd dispersed soon after. we made a beeline to the gunfire breakfast, free but donations accepted. the portions were reasonable and the quality was really quite good.
i commented on the size of jk’s small sausage =D
we also stayed on for the anzac march. it wasn’t any sensational, nor was it supposed to be. decorated war veterans took part in the march according to their divisions and battalions. i was more interested in those that played a part of history in south east asia and singapore.
although i’m not australian, it wasn’t difficult to share the same appreciation and recognition for the anzac forces, especially those involved in ww2. we were fighting the same adversary and in suffering under the same enemy, experiences merged. my materal grandfather was tortured by the japanese soldiers when they delt out their infamous kempeitai torture on him. in his hallucinatory moments before passing on, he imagined that japanese soldiers were still after him. in that extent, i can identity with australians whose loved ones were held captive as prisoners-of-war during the japanese occupation.
other singaporeans experienced a different affliation with the anzac forces. being a civil servant in singapore, the geek’s grandfather worked directly for the anzac forces, both as a clerk and a translator. look up the link in siva’s post for more information on the anzac’s involvement in the region.
a highly decorated bagpiper at the anzac march
funny that such ‘olden day’ simulacra is juxtaposed with mass culture and consumerism in the background
[...] studying in Melbourne (something about me and that city), attended the Dawn Service this morning. She reflects: although i’m not australian, it wasn’t difficult to share the same appreciation and [...]