ANZAC Day 2012 in Greece...Lest we Forget

Lest we forget....

They shall grow not old....as we that are left grow old

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning,

We will remember them,We will remember them...

Australia New Zealand Army Corps

Lest we forget....

The Australian Embassy has invited New Zealanders and Australians and friends of both countries to attend the ANZAC Day Commemorative Celebrations

on

Wednesday 25 April 2012, 11.00 a.m.

at

The Commonwealth War Cemetery

in

Alimos

(Posidonos Avenue and Ethnarhou Makariou Street)

Let's all be there, as we are every year, to honour the memory of those valiant young men who came to the other side of the world to fight , not just in World War I but in World War II as well, so that we could be free.

Hellenic New Zealand Association,

Athens, Greece

We who to clothe Hellas in freedom fought,
Lie here at rest in praise that fadeth not...

Names of those who fell in Greece 

etched on marble forever more

  Official representatives line up to lay wreaths 

in memory of those who fell in Greece 

in the course of duty ...

ANZAC Day
Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War, and is held every year on April 25th.

The Red Poppy 

Source: The Red Poppy - NZ History

The Gallipoli campaign

In 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of an Allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula, under a plan to open the way to the Black Sea for the Allies. The objective was to capture Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire and an ally of Germany

The ANZAC force landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish Army commanded by Ataturk. What had been planned as a bold strike to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stale-mate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915, the Allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. Over 8,000 Australian and 2,700 New Zealand soldiers died. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians and New Zealanders at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which they remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in war.

Though the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives of capturing Istanbul and knocking Turkey out of the war, the Australian and New Zealand troops' actions during the campaign bequeathed an intangible but powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as an ANZAC Legend became an important part of the national identity in both countries, shaping the ways their citizens viewed both their past and their future.

Read More at Wikipedia