Three contributions to the nation’s collective memory

My hair stands up when the bugler blasts the Last Post across a silent crowd on Anzac Day or Remembrance Day.

It triggers memories of friends and family who have served in the military, of those who answered the call to arms, or those conscripts left with little choice. It reminds me of the stories of my great-grandfather who served in both world wars and his struggles adjusting to normal life in times of peace. I also remember the stories I’ve been told about others’ ancestors while standing with a notepad beside cenotaphs in far-flung country towns during my time as a small-town reporter.

Anzac Day’s standing as a time of reflection for the nation’s collective memory is treasured by many, not least of all those who huddle together at dawn services around the country. This is what makes this morning’s stunt by neo-Nazi Jacob Hersant particularly galling. In selfishly disrupting Melbourne’s dawn service to voice his objection to Welcome to Country speeches, he disrespected the memory of the Anzacs by hijacking this time of memorial and quiet reflection for his own purpose. You can read more about The Age’s view of this and other recent public interventions by far-right groups in tomorrow’s editorial.

What I want to do with this newsletter is to explore that idea of the nation’s collective memory and look at The Age’s contribution to that with its coverage today.

If you read only one story about Anzac history today, it should this one from The Age’s Europe correspondent, Rob Harris. Beautifully told in Harris’ inimitable style, it tells the story of the Anzacs’ arrival at Leighterton in the English countryside during the dwindling days of World War I. Many died there as they sought to establish a significant air force in the Australian military. Many died there during training mishaps in unreliable aircraft, others married local women and some returned home months later.

Every year on the Sunday closest to Anzac Day, since 1931, their contribution to the area and the war effort is marked by the town.

Tony Wright today brought us an equally compelling but very different story about a veteran who was called up for compulsory military service during the Vietnam War via the National Service Scheme lottery. Decades later when he checked the list of lottery dates held by the National Archives, he discovered his birthday had never been drawn.

And then for a change of pace, we bring you the story of Aussie rules clubs in Vietnam who unwittingly revived a tradition from the Vietnam War, by playing annual matches on the same ground once used by “Nashos” like Stan Middleton, who served at Vung Tau and played in the Vietnam Football League. This story by Alexander Darling explains how the footy tradition continued in Vietnam after half a century.

These recollections of the past can sometimes be heartwarming, but they are rarely comfortable. We all have a duty to remember the stories of the brutal reality of war and the lives lost on all sides of historic conflicts not for the purposes of glorification, but so we don’t forget the cost.

I want to leave you today with a recommendation on the same theme. I recently visited Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance and was impressed by the way it neatly balanced education and reflection. If you’ve never been, or haven’t visited for a while, I highly recommend it.