104

25 April in Australia is a very special day. It is Anzac Day. Every year our returned servicemen and women march in all the capital cities and small towns to commemorate those who have lost their lives in the various dreadful wars. When we were growing up it was always a sacred day and, once we owned a television set, we would always spend the morning watching the March in Sydney.

Last year for the first time since World War II the march was cancelled because of the pandemic. It was held this year but with some restrictions. This wonderful man is 104 and is a veteran of World War II. The TV cameras followed him for a while early on during the march. Later on he decided he wanted to walk some of the way so he got out of his wheelchair and, accompanied by two soldiers, walked quite a distance. The cameras picked him up again. What a remarkable spirit.

There was another 104 year old. This time it was a woman. She was also in a wheelchair. During World War II she joined the military and spent her war sewing uniforms. Ever since then she has never believed herself to be eligible to be part of the Anzac Day march. She only recently learned that she is eligible and so, for the first time in her life, at the age of 104, she joined the march. Another remarkable story.

Lest we forget!