My Anzac Day

(In 1977, I was Chair of the Paihia Community Council, and conducted the Anzac Day ceremony at the local memorial. Here is the oration I wrote and delivered that morning.)

ANZAC DAY 1977

 

 

We have met to remember the price of war

And the value of the merchandise we got in return:

 

 

Let us remember the lives of those who died in battle;

Let us remember families shattered, scattered and homeless;

Let us remember beauty destroyed and good wasted;

Let us remember the toil and effort given to saving lives that should never have been put at risk;

Let us remember our friends and neighbours whose fitness, or happiness, or prosperity is still affected by old injuries and shocking memories;

 

 

Let us contemplate the waste of the earth’s resources,

                                    Waste of human intelligence and strength,

                                    Waste of capital and labour,

                                    Waste of emotion and waste of life.

 

 

At this cost we have received the freedom to live in peace;

At this cost we have received the freedom to choose our work;

At this cost we have received the freedom to bring up our children in an open society;

At this cost we have received the freedom to express our own opinions and think our own thoughts;

At this cost we have received the freedom to act with others, or alone, on the basis of our opinions.

 

 

On this day we do not only remember the past;

We look forward with hope into the future.

The only guarantee of a peaceful future is that

We recognise the cause of war and resolve to avoid it.

 

 

 

The cause of war is failure to look at the world from the other person’s point of view;

The cause of war is greed in the hearts of ordinary citizens;

The cause of war is greed of armament manufacturers who stir up trouble in hope of greater profits;

The cause of war is taking the easy way out: reaching for a gun when negotiation is difficult;

The cause of war is oppression of one nation by another;

The cause of war is the oppression of minorities by majorities, even in the name of democracy.

 

 

Let us resolve that the price of war shall never be paid again:

 

 

In the name of Gallipoli let us resolve to scale the heights of greed in our minds and in our economic life;

In the name of Passchendaele let us set ourselves against ignorance and narrow-minded bigotry which regards people of other nations as sub-human;

In the name of Monte Cassino let us resolve to treasure the good we have inherited from the past;

In the name of Coventry and Dresden let us resolve that never again shall rulers be elected out of hatred, fear and ruthless self-interest;

In the name of Stalingrad let us resolve to defend our freedom of action as individuals and as a society, wherever it is threatened;

In the name of Auschwitz let us resolve to help the powerless, the weak and the defenceless, no matter how much they may be the objects of prejudice or hatred;

In the name of El Alamein let us resolve to surround our children with such affection and good example that they may resist the temptation to violence;

In the name of Dunkirk let us resolve to build the future on truth, honesty and peace.

 

 

Let this be why these men died;

Let this be why we live.