Bleary eyed and rugged up, hundreds of thousands of Australians shuffled their way to dawn services on Wednesday.
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Anzac Day is a day intertwined with our national spirit and identity because it’s where Australia was really forged.
For our returned soldiers, nurses and defence force personnel, it is a time to reflect on the horrors and trauma buried in their psyche. While families and friends mourn those they have lost to the battlefront and at home to post-war mental illness.
For many, it is a day of pride. A single day of recognition for the sacrifice they gave and give their country.
But aside from Anzac Day and Remembrance Day, our defence force personnel are mostly at the back of people’s minds throughout the rest of the year.
Sometimes, it is easy to forget about the sacrifice of these people – past, present and future.
Most Australians wake every morning without a thought for the soldiers, deployed by our government, waking up in war-torn countries.
Nor, the veterans who play the horrors of warfare on loop in their minds.
The reality is, seemingly, we don’t give enough recognition to the struggle of these people when they come home and attempt to re-enter society.
The battle doesn’t stay on the frontlines but comes home with these people. They can return home with to battle depression, physical injuries, mental scars, brain injuries, PTSD and homelessness.
Figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reveal 292 defence force personnel who took their own lives between 2001-2014, but that only includes personnel who joined from 2001.
The government needs to recognise and act more strongly to prioritise the care of these returned service personnel.
And we Australians, on the home front, have a duty to fight for the people who volunteer because they love their country and want to protect us.
We need to honour and respect our defence force personnel not by wrapping ourselves in the flag or smashing nine schooners at the pub.
But by understanding the courage and hardship our soldiers, sailors and nurses who have served, are serving and will serve endure.
We will remember them and we will fight for them.
