Lest we forget - ANZAC Day 2020

                                                                                               Shutterstock

As ANZAC Day dawns with a change in custom due to COVID-19, nonetheless the opportunity to reflect on the sacrifices made by those who have served in the Armed Forces particularly during wartime remains as valid as ever. While much of the ritual elements of ANZAC Day find their origins on the battlefields of the First World War, particularly Gallipoli and the Western Front, the contribution of the Second World War is just as poignant.

Australia's casualties in WWII were 39,655 killed or died as a result of their injuries during the period from 3 September 1939 until 30 June 1947. World War II ended in Europe on 7 May 1945 with Germany's surrender and in the Pacific on 14 August 1945 with Japan's surrender. Over 30,000 Australian service personnel were taken prisoner by the Axis Forces of which two-thirds of these were captives taken by the Japanese during the first weeks of their advance through south-east Asia in 1942. 36 per cent of all Australian prisoners died in the captivity of the Japanese.

It was during the American Civil War, that Union General, William Tecumseh Sherman made the oft used quote that has been repeated many times in various forms:  "War is hell... war is cruelty and you cannot refine it".

Lest we forget.