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Australians walk on the beach at the Ariburnu Memorial, Anzac Cove, Gallipoli - Source: Reuters -
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Anzac Day runs deeper than nationalism or military pride, The Weekend Australian says in its editorial on Saturday.
Today's Anzacs are defending our nation against global terrorism with all the distinction of their forerunners who scaled the Gallipoli cliffs 94 years ago, and stopped the Japanese at Milne Bay in 1942.
The nation also honour our 102,000 war dead, including 61,000 in World War I, 39,000 in World War II, 340 in Korea, 521 in Vietnam and smaller numbers in other conflicts.
Anzac Day honours those who sacrificed all to allow Australians to live in peace. the newspaper says.
"It acknowledges our prisoners of war, and the debilitating wounds endured by thousands of survivors, and the loneliness and suffering of families whose loved ones were lost or maimed.
"A sombre, reflective commemoration of past campaigns, it has evolved to embrace new generations, renewing itself at the grassroots, and ensuring the fallen live on in the national pantheon...
"Australians need Anzac Day. Our mateship, gleaned from the early Diggers, makes it vital to salute our armed forces, past and present, for their brave service, loyalty and sacrifice. Lest we forget."
Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald says as Australians mark the 94th
anniversary of the Gallipoli landings, troops are serving in at
least seven overseas operations.
The largest group is in Afghanistan, where last month the 10th Australian soldier fell, his sacrifice and those of his mates reminders of the true cost of serving our country and the true meaning of Anzac Day.
Despite political efforts to make Australia Day the pre-eminent celebration of nationhood, Anzac Day remains our national day.
"Certainly the need to respect the past, watch the march, wave flags, suggests Anzac Day is much more inclusive and forward-looking than in former days. It is now a significant demonstration of who we are and how we came to be Australian."
Herald Sun
Melbourne's Herald Sun says Anzac Day has become a national day of
peace as well as a memory of the tragedy of war.
This year, there are new marchers among the old soldiers, from warns in Afghanistan, Iraq and East Timor.
Some World War II veterans are still marching alongside those from the Korean and Vietnam wars, but the last Australian World War I soldier is 110 and living in a nursing home.
A new cemetery near the town of Fromelles, where Australians first went into battle on the Western Front in 1916, will honour those who died, the newspaper says.
"It requires selfless courage to serve your country and nearly 2000 soldiers from the 5th division died and more than 3000 were wounded that dreadful night.
"What happened in the mud and blood of foreign fields must not be forgotten."
The Age
Melbourne's The Age says Anzac Day should retain its place as a day
of solemn commemoration of the war dead, but it is not our national
day.
The feelings of national pride on the day are often most stridently expressed by younger people, yet their connection to Kokoda and Tobruk, Gallipoli and Fromelles, is remote.
When asked what draws them to the foreign battlefields where Australians are buried, they often answer that this is where the nation was born.
"For them and many others the national identity has come to be defined by the Anzac story," the editorial said.
There is no dishonour in pointing out the Anzac's sacrifice was not a declaration of independence but part of Australia's history in a wider empire.
"When Australia finally severs its vestigial links with the imperial past, declaring itself to be a republic with its own head of state, we really shall have an independence day, and Anzac Day will not be diminished by it," the editorial said.
The Courier-Mail
Brisbane's The Courier-Mail says the bonds that tie generations of Australians back to the shores of Gallipoli or the fields surrounding Villers-Bretonneux are growing stronger.
The nation refuses to allow the passage of time to dilute the importance of what went on at those places to the way Australians see themselves now.
The ever-growing attendances at Anzac Day services are evidence enough to show that the grandchildren and great grandchildren of Australia's veterans understand that there is a profound connection between the sacrifices of the Great War and the sense they make of their lives today, the newspaper says.
"For all the ceremony and ritual that surrounds Anzac Day, at its core are qualities that need no embroidery or marketing campaign to be regarded across generations as truly, sincerely, Australian. And we never forget those."
What does Anzac Day mean to you? Comment on our messageboard below. Or you can send your images from commemorations around the country to interactivenews@tvnz.co.nz
