ANZAC DAY

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27638, 20 April 1955, Page 3

ANZAC DAY

Sir, —How many of us realise the significance of Anzac Day? It is not merely a holiday, but also a day of remembrance. With war clouds overshadowing us, let this be a special day of remembrance to all the brave men who so willingly gave their lives for justice, peace and liberty. Let our remembrance of them be very real in our thoughts and lives, not just by lip homage, but also to inspire us to live the way of life for which they fought and died. We, from whom no such sacrifice has been required, may well ask ourselves whether we are worthy of their courage and devotion. Our salute to them must be to live our lives honourably and not let their sacrifice be in vain. Their victory is won. With the help of God it is ours to carry on and pray for the peace of the world.—Yours, etc., A. CHALLIS. April 19, 1955.

Sir.—With the origin of Anzac Day receding further and further, this day becomes just another holiday, without ethical, moral or emotional value. Forgotten or unknown is the fact that in the course of the 1914-1918 war the soil of Europe was drenched with human blood. Forgotten are the cripples, the epidemics, the starvation that followed. But opportunity will be taken on April 25 to hallow war, the crime of war (nota bene, the logic of the term war criminal). On parade will not be seen the mutilated of both world wars, the ghosts of the blitzed and bombed in their hecatombs, the millions uselessly sacrificed by the war plotters of all nations. The celebration will again have all the features of a subtle war demonstration. Reasoned thinking will be silenced by the noise of martial music, the day will be illuminated by the flashes of atom and hydrogen bomb tests.—Yours, etc., NO MORE WAR PREPARATIONS. April 19, 1955.