ANZAC Day

Today is April 25th, ANZAC Day, a date observed in Australia and New Zealand to remember the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I.

This picture is from an observance in Iraq in 2004:

There’s not much good Aussie companionship when you’re the only Australian in a remote Iraqi township but Maj Craig Madden, RAE, is nothing if not resourceful. Maj Madden, left, scouted around on Anzac Day and eventually came across Rochelle Knight, right, a Kiwi from Christchurch, who is in Iraq working for civilian contract company KBR. Add about 20 US soldiers to hold the flags, wreaths made from locally-growing gum trees and “wha-lah!” a instant Anzac Day ceremony.
Maj Madden and Rochelle were in Balad, a town about 100km north of Baghdad, where he was providing awareness training on mines, improvised explosive devices and unexploded ordnance.