It is the day when we bow our heads to remember the sacrifices made decades before our time.
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The sacrifices experienced not only by the soldiers themselves, but by their friends and families.
On April 25, we pin medals to our chests, march the streets, and try to envisage what it would have been like to be on the frontline of war.
Some brave the cold and the dark (and this year, the rain) to pay their respects at dawn.
Others join the more ceremonial 11am services.
Then there are others who will mark the occasion in their own way, quietly or without a to-do.
For much of the population, Anzac Day is the day to remember the soldiers who fought valiantly for freedom.
While we go back to school or work on April 26, the harrows of war remain with our returned soldiers.
They haunt family and friends who have lost loved ones to conflicts, in recent and ancient history.
Recently, many veterans are beginning to speak out about the way that the horrors of war still stalk their footsteps, even when they have been home for some time.
The painted image of post traumatic stress disorder that common people have does not compare to the reality, that we can be sure of.
While the general populous can recite the political aspects of modern conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, who can grasp the true horror of what soldiers (and civilians) saw there?
Across Fairfax Media on Saturday, NSW veteran Mick Bainbridge shared the perspective of a young vet, and the enormity of readjusting to “regular life” after returning from four tours of Afghanistan.
He spoke about the difference that veterans today feel, in contrast to the veterans of the Vietnam War or the World Wars.
“I know the sacrifices were incredible, but a lot of the ceremony is based around our WWI Diggers, and sometimes it’s hard not to feel like some of our younger generation veterans feel a little bit left out,” he said.
Sometimes perhaps we do forget that sacrifices continue to be made today.
Neither past nor present sacrifices should overshadow each other; all veterans deserve respect and support.
Not just on April 25 should we remember and thank them.