I grew up
during the Vietnam era. I therefore came
of age harbouring a certain amount of contempt for those who had heard their
country’s call and went marching off to war.
Enlistment was for chumps. Even
if drafted. Aside from ample deferments
available, there was a whole cottage industry of ways to avoid the draft.
I remember once, sitting in my parents’ living room when an uncle and a
second cousin were visiting. They sat
there, comparing notes on what dodges their lawyers had used to keep my two
cousins, one from each coast from being drafted. It wasn’t that either one was a conscientious
objector. It wasn’t that either one
disliked, or saw himself as disloyal to his country. But it was an age where draft call ups were
selective. And where the war was
patently unpopular and mis-understood.
So only a chump – or someone whose parents could not afford the
craftiest lawyers – would go to the service.
Because the Vietnam War was so unpopular, my country flexed its military
muscles only with great reluctance during a very dangerous time of Cold War
that followed. But more than that, we
entered an age where we began to judge all past conflicts according to our deep
skepticism. War is not the answer, we
repeated mindlessly. But we didn’t know
what the question was.
Since you likely know that I wore a uniform for 28 years, you
already know that, at some point, my attitude toward military service
changed. I cannot pinpoint the
moment. But I did serve as a
volunteer. And I did volunteer
repeatedly. Until I found myself a
career military man. A lifer, to
use the prerogative term popular during the days of the draft. If, at eighteen someone had told me that I
would be a lifer in the military, I would have told them in all
seriousness: Kill me now.
It’s hard for me to speak personally about Gallipoli and the ANZAC
spirit, I who understand so little of Australia. But the youth of Australia and New Zealand
gave their all on that fateful April morning when they landed on the shores of
Gallipoli. They faced an opposition they
could not have imagined. And they faced
off against the powerful opponent, who held the advantageous high ground, for
the next eight months. Some say that
Australia was born as a nation, on the beaches of Gallipoli. In other words, through the sacrifice of her
youth, she found her purpose as a nation.
I haven’t been to Gallipoli, but I’ve been to Gettysburg. It’s a quiet town in southern Pennsylvania. It’s perhaps, in a way, he Americans’
Gallipoli. It’s where the United States
was, if not born, then burnished and forged into a nation that would rise from
the ashes of a destructive civil war.
And which would be a force for good in the world over the next century
and more. But when I strolled
Gettysburg’s battlefields, I didn’t think such lofty and profound thoughts. I only heard the dead soldiers cry out: We were young. We gave our all. Now it is up to you to give meaning to our
sacrifice. I felt I was standing on
holy ground. Because I was. I had brought along a copy of Lincoln’s
Gettysburg Address. Every syllable of
the great President’s brief speech sang out to me that day. Fourscore and
seven years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation…
Australia is a nation at peace, but which is desperately searching for
itself in this 21st century of the Common Era. As Australians try to forge an enduring
identity for their nation, they are well-advised to think of the ANZAC’s and
the spirit that motivated them to fight and die on foreign soil. We in this room were not able to travel to
witness the 100th April 25th sunrise over Gallipoli since
that fateful day in 1915. I daresay that
those who have made the trek will, in a few hours when the sun rises on that
side of the world, begin to emotionally connect with the young Australian men
who landed that day. And with those who
never made it to the beach, cut down in the boats or in the clear waters of the
Aegean Sea.
Avinu shebashamayim, Tzur Yisrael vego’alo
Barech et Medinot Australia ve’New Zealand
Zachor at chayaleihen
Shelachmu bemilchemet ha’olam harishona
Veshe nas’u mibeiteihem
Ad sof ha’olam
Lehilachem be’ad cherut
Veletakein ha’olam
Ana tih’yena nafshoteihem
Tzrurot bitzrur hachayim
U’tehi menuchatam kavod
S’va s’machot et paneicha
Ne’imot bimincha netzach
Amein.
Our Father in heaven
Rock and Redeemer of Israel
Bless the countries of Australia and New Zealand
Remember their soldiers
Who fought in the Great War
Who travelled from their homes
To the ends of the world
To fight for freedom
To make the world better
Let their souls be bound up in the bond of life
May their rest be with honour
May Your Presence sate them with joy
May the beauty of their sacrifice shine forever
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment